


Every King Needs a Queen

by lotte_vos



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Kings & Queens, Past Abuse, king!killian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2018-11-08 04:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 33,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11074056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lotte_vos/pseuds/lotte_vos
Summary: When an injured woman arrives through a portal, King Killian decides to keep her as a guest in his castle. Once Emma's walls are down, the fun begins.King/Queen AUTrigger warning: abuse.





	1. Prologue

Emma was 17, in 2 months she would finally be able to leave the foster system. She had been living with Stanley and Margot, her foster parents, for the past 6 months. She did her best to be on her best behavior so they wouldn't sent her away. She only had a few months left in the foster system and then she would finally be free. The first 3 weeks were amazing, she always got 3 meals a day and the foster parents were always nice to her. After those 3 weeks, Stanley showed his true nature. It started with some slapping in the face when she did something that would annoy him. It escaladed quickly after that. He would slap her for no reason at first, then came the fists and the kicks. Margot never knew what was happening when she wasn't home. When Margot brought up the bruises on her arms or legs, Stanley gave Emma a murderous look to keep her quite. One day, Emma arrived back home 10 minutes late. She always headed back home immediately but that day, someone stopped Emma at her locker. Lilly, Emma's only friend, asked her a question about the lesson they just had. She didn't want to raise suspicion by telling her she had to head back home immediately so she answered Lilly's questions quickly. She ran home after that, hoping she would still make it in time. Stanley was already waiting for Emma and stood up when she came through the front door.

"Why are you late?" He asked angrily.

"Lilly had a question about the lesson." Emma replied nervously. She already knew where this conversation was heading.

"I expect you to be here in time!" Stanley shouted. Emma looked at the ground, she hated it when he shouted at her. Stanley grabbed her chin forcefully, "Look at me when I'm speaking to you!" He added while shouting louder.

"S-sorry." Emma said with fear in her eyes. Stanley slapped her cheek with force.

"You are so worthless! You aren't even able to make it home in time!" He started punching her in the stomach. Emma fell over from the pain with tears in her eyes. She couldn't wait for the day she turned 18, she wanted to be free so badly. Stanly grabbed a knife and started cutting in her legs and arms. Emma yelled from the pain, begging him to stop and repeating that she was sorry for being late. Stanley kept the torture going for a while until Emma eventually passed out from the pain. Stanley spit in Emma's direction, not feeling sorry for what he did to her.

__________♛__________

Killian was 23 years old and became king only a few months ago. His father and older brother Liam both died during a storm at sea. They were heading to another country to meet Liam's betrothed. Killian wasn't trained to be king since the crown normally would go to Liam, so when he was a child he would normally play outside instead of following the lessons Liam had to go through. Their sudden deaths and the new responsibilities had been hard for Killian. He decided it would be better if he found himself a wife so they could bear the burdens together.

His younger sister, Ruby, decided that she would help him in finding him a queen. They were discussing the topic during a ride through the forest. Suddenly a portal came out of nowhere.  
"What was that?" Ruby asked, ready to turn her horse around.

"Wait here, Ruby. I'm going to check what's up there." Killian said, already guiding his horse away from Ruby.

"Be careful Killian! I can't lose you too!" Ruby said loudly, hoping he wouldn't ride straight into danger.

"No worries, I'll be back in a few moments."

He was there in no time and he saw an injured woman with long blond curls. He immediately yelled for Ruby. She was there in an instant, gasping when she saw the young woman in the dirt.

"Who is that?" She asked Killian.

"I have no idea, but she needs our help." Killian said with worry in his voice. "Help me get her on my horse, we need to get her to the castle immediately." When the girl was securely in Killian's arm and on his horse, they were heading back to the castle.

 


	2. Meeting Emma

Killian and Ruby arrived back at the castle with the unconscious woman. Killian immediately asked for the royal doctor while carrying the woman to one of his guest rooms.

Victor came running into the room after a few moments.

"What's going on, your highness?" He asked, slightly out of breath from running.

"I have no idea, Victor. She came through a portal and we found her unconsciously in the forest. We came back as quickly as we could." Killian explained. Victor began tending to the wounds, Killian decided to wait outside but Ruby stayed with her in the room in case she would wake up.

After an hour of waiting in the hallway, he finally was allowed back into the room.

"She has been through a hell, I can assure you that. She has several cuts on her arms and legs, a lot of bruises all over her body and a broken arm." Victor explained. "She must be in a lot of pain, I don't -" Victor's explanation was cut short when they heard a groan coming from the bed. Ruby quickly went back to the girl's side.

__________♛__________

Emma looked over at the two men and the woman standing beside the bed. She immediately felt scared again. She didn't know any of these people and that probably meant trouble. She started to get up but the hand of the woman on her shoulder and the pain that was flowing through her body stopped her.

"We won't cause any harm." The woman said. Emma didn't say anything, afraid she would get hit when she did so.

"What's your name?" The woman asked, Emma still didn't say a word to any of them. "I'm Ruby." She said, hoping that the girl would say something back.

"Emma." She said quietly.

"Nice to meet you, Emma." The woman, Ruby said with a smile. One of the men came closer and Emma started to back away.

"This is my brother, Killian." Ruby said. "And the doctor's name is Victor." Emma still looked scared so she decided to sooth her by stroking her hair, hoping it would help to get her relax. Emma flinched at first but leaned into the touch a few moments later. Killian came closer to the bed again and eventually sat down at the end of it.

"Where am I?" Emma asked, wanting to know how she here. She was sensing that there was something wrong about this.

"You're at my castle, in Robonia." Killian said.

"Robonia? That's not a real place. Am I still dreaming?" She said with a shaky voice.

"It's definitely real, it's one of the largest countries in The Enchanted Forest."

"The Enchanted Forest? Are you guys lunatics? How did I even get here?" Emma said while panicking.

"You tell us. We saw a portal swirling around in the forest so we went to check it out. We saw you unconsciously laying there so we brought you back to our castle so we could tend to your wounds." Ruby spoke up again.

"What's happening to me?" Emma said with tears in her eyes, she didn't really understand what those people were trying to tell her. _"The Enchanted Forest? Are those guys serious?"_ She thought to herself.

"It might be best if we let her rest for a bit, your highnesses." The doctor said. They all started to get out the room and Emma relaxed again.

"I will send a maid with some food in an hour or two." Killian said before closing the door.

Ruby, Victor and Killian were heading to the sitting room so they could discuss what they were going to do with Emma.

"She'll need to stay here until her injuries are healed." Victor began.

"I want her here as my personal guest, she clearly didn't know that she travelled between realms. If she wishes to find a way back home, I'll help her with her search." Killian said. "If she wishes to stay, she'll be staying in our castle until she wishes to leave."

"I'll go tell the maids to prepare some food for the girl." Ruby said, happy that Killian didn't sent her away.

After a few minutes Victor left the room too. Killian was left alone with his thoughts, he thought about Emma again. He wondered who would have injured her so badly and where she was from. He felt the strange urge to protect her. He wanted to get to know her better. His thoughts were interrupted when Ruby came back into the room. He jumped up a little when he heard her close the door.

"What were you thinking about?" Ruby asked her brother.

"Emma actually. Will the servants bring her some food in a few hours?" Killian asked, hoping Ruby wouldn't want to talk about his attraction to Emma.

"Yes, it's all arranged." She noticed the way his eyes softened. "What's wrong, Killian?"

"It's just, I just met her and I already like her. What If she doesn't want to stay here? What if she wants to head back home once she has recovered?" Killian began. "She's like a siren, I'm already considering to make her my wife. Is that weird?"

"It's alright to be attracted to her, but you also have to take her feelings towards you into consideration. Don't bring up the marriage or you'll scare her away." Ruby chuckled. "And don't worry about the marriage thing, we'll find you a wife." She then left the room again, leaving Killian alone with his thoughts.

__________♛__________

_She was running through a forest. Stanley was chasing after her, she could hear his heavy footsteps crashing the leaves under his feet. She ran as fast as she could, hoping she could outrun him. She was looking behind her to see how far away Stanley was but tripped over her own feet. It was enough for Stanley to catch up._

" _Got you!" He yelled while picking up Emma. "Looks like I need to teach you a few lessons." He smirked at Emma and began slapping her in the face. "One day you will learn how to behave. Until then, I'm going to have a little fun teaching you." Another slap against her cheek, then a fist in her stomach causing her to gasp for a breath. She fell over from the pain and Stanley began to kick her with his feet. She was screaming from the pain._

Emma woke up, screaming her lungs out. Since she lived with Stanley, the nightmares were a daily thing to get through. Every night she would wake up with tears in her eyes.

Killian heard a scream coming from Emma's room and feared someone might try to hurt her. He ran towards her room and came in without knocking. He saw her sitting up at her bed with a tear stained face. He quickly crossed his way through her chamber and sat beside her on her bed.

"What's wrong, love?" He asked her. Emma was sobbing and after a while her sobs turned into hiccups.

"H-he caught m-me." She said through her hiccups.

"Who caught you?" Killian gently asked her, getting angry at the person who clearly treated her badly.

"St-Stanly." She said, she avoided his eyes, ashamed that she was crying in front of him.

"Who's Stanley? Is he the one who hurt you?" Killian asked, wanting to know her story so he could understand her better.

"M-my foster d-dad." Emma said, taking large breaths so the hiccups would stop. "Can w-we talk about it another time?" She asked, not wanting to share her past with a stranger, even if he was a king.

"As you wish, my lady." He said. He stood up from the bed, wanting to give her some space. "I'll be in the garden if you need me." Emma nodded, smiling a bit at him.

__________♛__________

The servants brought her food twenty minutes after Killian left. When she was finished, she decided it would be a good idea to clean herself up a bit. When she was presentable again, she went through the large hallway in search for Killian. She got lost a few times, all the hallways were much alike and she hadn't got a clue to how she would be able to find the garden. She eventually found it and saw Killian sitting on a bench, a book in his hands. She slowly walked up to him and took a breath before speaking up.

"Good afternoon, your highness." She said, bowing in front of him. Killian looked up from his book with a chuckle.

"You don't have to do that, love. Just treat me like the rest." He said, he sat up from the bench and closed the space between the two of them. "Care to take a walk with me through the garden?" He asked, offering her his arm. Emma took it and they began walking.

"So, we might need to begin to find a way to get you home." Killian said, hoping Emma wouldn't hear the disappointment in his voice.

"Hmm, if there even is a possibility to go back." She said.

"Don't lose hope just yet, Emma." Killian said. "I'll ask the blue fairy for help." Emma's head shot up.

"The blue fairy, seriously? What is this place?" She said, the disbelieve clearly noticeable in her voice.

"Yes, she has some powerful magic that might help us. Maybe we can even find a magic bean or something that could transport you home." Killian explained further.

"Magic? That's a real thing here?" Emma said with shock in her voice. This place was even weirder than she originally thought.

"Ah, so you're from the place without magic."

"Uhm, sure." Emma really didn't understand what he was talking about so she just decided to agree with him.

They made some small talk and it was getting dark. Killian walked Emma back to her room, he was a gentleman after all.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Emma said when they arrived at her door.

"I'll come get you for breakfast. I'll send a servant who can give you some clean clothes." Killian said, he grabbed Emma's hand and gave it a small kiss on her knuckles. "Goodnight, love." He said before he headed back to his own room.

__________♛__________

It took Emma a while for before she finally fell asleep. She was thinking about Killian and the strange world she ended up in. She was happy though now that she didn't have to see Stanley again but she was curious about how she conjured up a portal. It didn't make any sense. With these thoughts, she finally fell in a dreamless sleep.

 


	3. Getting to know each other

The next morning, Emma awoke with the sounds of the servants walking and talking in the hallway. She decided to get up so she could have breakfast. She got dressed in a flowy blue dress the maids had left behind yesterday. She was getting a bit lost in the large castle and suddenly bumped into Killian on her way to the kitchen.

"Good morning, milady." Killian said with a glitter of amusement in his eyes.

"Good morning, my lord." Emma responded a bit mockingly.

"Where are you heading to?" He asked.

"Just heading to the kitchen to grab some food." She responded. "But I got lost a few minutes ago. How can you find your way through these hallways?"

Killian chuckled. "I grew up here so it's quite easy to find my way around." Emma rolled her eyes at him with a small smile on her lips. "Shall we go have breakfast then, love?" He asked.

"Sure, lead the way." Emma said. Killian was leading her through the hallways, giving her a little tour along the way. Once they were seated at the breakfast table, the servants immediately started placing some plates in front of them.

"Thank you." Emma said to the servant, not really used to getting such a service. They were eating in a comfortable silence for a while until Emma decided to have a conversation with the man on the other side of the table.

"So, do you like being king?" She asked.

"It's not that bad. Although it's a lot of responsibility, everyone in the kingdom is counting on me and that's something I'm not used to yet." Killian responded.

"I'm sure you are a great leader." Emma answered with a small smile.

"So, tell me more about yourself, love." Killian said, wanting to get to know her a bit better.

"What do you want to know?" Emma asked, not sure where to start.

"I want to know everything about you, Emma." He said, hoping he didn't sound too creepy.

"I'm Emma Swan, but you know my name already." She said with a chuckle. "I'm 17 years old, almost 18. My birthday is in less than 2 months." She rambled. "Err, what else is there to tell?"

"When's your birthday exactly?" Killian asked, he was already thinking for a surprise for her birthday.

"The 22th of October." She answered. "How old are you?"

"I turned 23 a few months ago." He said. The door flew open, revealing an excited Ruby.

"Good morning, guys!" She said excitingly and sat beside Emma. "Did you sleep well?" She asked Emma.

"Yeah, thanks. The bed was really comfortable." She answered, offering a smile.

"Good. So do you want to do something later today?" She asked.

"Sure! What do you have in mind?" Emma responded.

"Maybe we could go to the nearest town? I can show you around." Ruby offered. Emma considered the offer.

"That would be great!" Emma said enthusiastically.

"Do you know how to ride a horse?" Killian chipped in. "It's a rather long walk by foot. You will get there sooner if you go by horse."

"I have never even been on a horse." Emma said while grabbing another piece of bread.

"No worries, we'll take a carriage." Ruby said. "You can't ride with a broken arm, it's not safe."

"Sure, that could work." Emma said with a large smile.

"I have to go. I have a meeting in 10 minutes. I'll see you two for dinner tonight." Killian said and left the room.

"So, when do we leave?" Emma asked.

"I am almost finished with my breakfast. I'll ask someone to prepare our carriage." Ruby said.

__________♛__________

Twenty minutes later, the girls were sitting in the carriage. They were talking animatedly and were telling each other some stories from their childhood.

"How is it like to be a princess?" Emma asked, wanting to get to know Ruby a little bit better.

"The guards can be annoying, I can't sneak out of the castle and I don't really get to experience any adventures. When I found you in the woods, it really was the most exciting thing that has happened in a while." Ruby said sadly. She was an adventurous person, she loved the adrenalin coursing through her body whenever she did something dangerous but being a princess meant that she couldn't experience a lot of adventures.

"They are here to keep you safe though." Emma reasoned. "Where I'm from, every little girl wants to be a princess or a queen."

"Did you want to be a princess when you were young?" Ruby asked curiously.

"When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess one day. I used to dream that my parents were the king and queen of some far-away land and that they would save me from my life in the foster system. I stopped dreaming when abusive foster dad number 5 came along though. I had to grow up really fast or I would never have made it through all those years of physical and mental abuse." Emma explained sadly. She knew her childhood wasn't a really happy one and she hated talking about it too much.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Ruby said, "Maybe you'll be queen one day though!" She said with a lot of excitement, hoping to lighten up the air a bit.

"Haha, what makes you think I'll be queen one day?" Emma asked in-between chuckles.

"If you marry Killian, you'll be queen!" Ruby explained to Emma.

"Killian deserves someone better than I, a real princess who know what it'll be like to rule a country one day. Someone who will give him the love he deserves and the children he wants. I'm hardly that girl." Emma explained sadly. She was attracted to Killian, of course, but she knew he was way out of her league.

"If you say so." Ruby answered, secretly planning their wedding already.

__________♛__________

"Your highness, princess Milah has arrived." One of his servants announced. Killian looked up from his papers when Milah and her father came into the room. When Killian's father was still alive, he made an arrangement with the king of a neighborly kingdom that if Killian didn't marry before his 24th birthday, he and Milah were to be wed. With his 23rd birthday just a few months ago, Killian was running out of time.

"Good afternoon, my lord." Milah said sweetly, bowing for Killian.

"Good afternoon." Killian said, kissing Milah's hand softly. "Maybe we could get some tea in the garden. It's lovely outside."

Milah cringed at the mention of being outside but sucked it up to make a good impression on her hopefully soon-to-be husband. "Of course, my lord, I would love to." Milah's father left the room so he could give his daughter and Killian some privacy.

They were soon sitting outside and sipping their tea, having a light conversation so they could get to know each other better.

Milah's father was looking at them from afar, hoping that Milah could win Killian's heart so he could start working on his plan to take over Killian's kingdom.

 


	4. The market

They soon arrived at the market. Emma tried to look everywhere at the same time so she wouldn't miss a thing. There was a large smile evident on her face.

"Someone looks excited." Ruby said teasingly.

"This is so amazing! All those people here, all the excitement of a market place. It's so much better than the supermarket in my town!" Emma said, still looking at everything around her.

"A supermarket? What's that supposed to be?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Oh right, you don't have supermarkets here. Well, it's a store where you can buy all sorts of food. Like meat, vegetables, milk, and so on. You can even buy make-up, books and sometimes clothes in some supermarkets. It's like a lot of different stores all in one larger store." Emma explained.

"Oh, I get it. That sounds nice too!" Ruby said, she loved hearing about Emma's world. A lot of things were different there and Ruby was getting more curious with every story Emma told her about her own world. "Come on, the carriage stopped. We have some shopping to do!" Both Emma and Ruby loved shopping so nobody was surprised that they got out the carriage and into the market in record time.

"Where are we heading to first?" Emma asked Ruby, looking at every shop they passed.

"We're going to this amazing tailor. She often makes my every day dresses. She makes them really comfortable and they aren't too tight." Ruby said excitingly.

When they entered, they were welcomed by a sweet woman who immediately hugged Ruby and Emma.

"Emma, meet Erica. Erica, this is Emma." Ruby said to introduce the woman to each other.

"It's nice to meet you." Emma said sweetly and a bit shyly. She was still a bit shy around new people, also something she has the foster system to thank for.

"Nice to meet you too." Erica said sweetly, holding Emma's hand. "Who wants to go first?"

"Emma, why don't you go first? It's her first time dress shopping so be gently." Ruby said jokingly. Emma gave her a look of horror.

"Which colors do you like?" Erica asked her, showing some of the fabrics she had.

"Blue is my favorite color." Emma said. "Maybe I can get another blue dress?" She said, turning to Ruby to get permission.

"It's your choice, Emma. You don't have to ask me if you want something." Ruby told her.

"Oh, okay." Emma said with a small smile. She usually had to ask her foster parents permission if she wanted something. Growing up she didn't even get new clothes, she always had to wear the clothes from the older kids that the group homes or the foster parents gave her. Getting new clothes was really exciting for Emma.

"I'll get someone to take your size." Erica said before going to the back to get another seamstress.

While Emma was getting her size taken, Erica was busy with Ruby.

"I know Emma only asked for one dress but I would like to add a few more." Ruby said to Erica while going through some of the fabrics. "I would like to get her a red dress since that's Killian's favorite color, a pink dress, a dark blue one and a green one. They have to look like dresses a princess would wear, you know?" Ruby told Erica.

"Sure, I can do that. I'll get them finished by next week and I'll bring them over to the palace then." Erica said. She was used to getting the orders to the castle.

"I'll come get them actually. Emma just loves the market so I think I'll bring her again next week."

"Okay, I'll expect you guys next week then. Say around 3 p.m.?"

"That'll work." Ruby said just as Emma came back from the back of the store.

"I'm finished." Emma said, still having a smile on her face.

"Alright. Then we'll see you next week." Ruby said to Erica before heading out with Emma.

__________♛__________

"It's lovely out here." Milah told Killian after a long silence.

"My mother arranged all the flowers. She loved working in the garden." Killian said, he loved being in the garden. He always felt close to his mother when he was reading a book on a bench outside or when he was walking through the garden when it was snowing, anytime he was spending time in the garden he felt the connection with his mother.

"She did an amazing job." Milah said. Killian could hear from the tone in her voice that she didn't really care about the garden.

"What do you like to do in your free time?" Killian asked politely.

"I love to read and paint." She answered. T _hose seem to be relatively good hobbies_ , Killian thought. "And I love shopping, of course." She continued with a giggle. "I love getting jewelry." She said, clearly hinting something to Killian. He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, he knew most princesses love spending money but he hoped Milah would have been different; more like Emma who clearly didn't care much about getting gifts or jewelry. There was an awkward silence after that, neither of them knew what to say to the other.

__________♛__________

They went to the jewelry store next.

"Chose anything you want." Ruby said to Emma. Emma's mouth dropped open.

"Oh no, Ruby. That's way too much! First a dress and now jewelry? I don't want to take advantage like that." Emma began, she didn't want Ruby to spend too much money on her.

"It's not too much. In case you haven't noticed, I'm the princess. I can afford to buy you one necklace!" Ruby said, already looking at one of the necklaces that would look great on Emma. "Come look at this one."

"It's gorgeous." Emma said, her mouth dropped open again. She was looking at a simple necklace with a pendant in the shape of a swan.

"I'm going to buy this one for you and you are not going to complain about it." Ruby said with a smile, she knew that Emma would love the necklace once she saw it.

"It's still way too much to ask from you." Emma said again, hoping she could somehow change Ruby's mind somehow.

"I'm not going to change my mind. I can see how much you love that necklace and it's perfect for you!" Ruby told Emma again.

"I'm going to pay you back though. I'll do some work at the castle so I can earn the money back." Emma said, looking over at the necklace again. Ruby rolled her eyes and told her to wait while she was going to buy the necklace.

"Do you need new shoes?" Ruby asked when she exited the store.

"No, I'm good. I think I can get by with my flats for a while."

"Alright." Ruby said, not wanting to overwhelm Emma too much she agreed that they wouldn't go to that store.

"We could go back to the castle if you'd like?" Ruby said. Emma nodded.

"That's alright with me." Emma said. "Thanks for bringing me here. I had a lot of fun."

"You're welcome. It's much more fun with you here than coming alone." Ruby said while linking her arm with Emma's.

__________♛__________

After their tea in the garden, Killian excused himself. He invited Milah and her father for dinner. He wanted them to feel welcome, even though he wasn't really interested in marrying Milah.

Emma and Ruby finally came back after a few hours. He could hear their laughter in the hallway and headed out so he could ask them to join dinner.

"How was the market?" He asked both women.

"Same old, same old." Ruby told him, the market was not special for her anymore.

"It was amazing. Everyone is so friendly." Emma said, still in awe with everything she had seen.

"Glad you liked it." Killian said with a smile, he loved seeing Emma in such an awe. "I actually wanted to know if you two are available for dinner tonight. We have some guests so I could use some familiar faces there."

"Sure, who are the guests?" Ruby asked curiously. She normally knew who was visiting the castle but this time, nobody told her they were expecting guests.

"Princess Milah and King Alexander" Killian said.

"You mean the one father wanted you to marry?" Ruby asked, she had completely forgotten about the contract their father had signed with King Alexander.

"That's the one." Killian said, scratching behind his ear like he always does when he gets nervous or uncomfortable. Emma just looked down at the floor, not knowing how to react to that. She was attracted to Killian but she was no princess and he was therefor way out of his league.

"Yeah, sure, we'll be there." Ruby said before linking one of her arms with Emma's and heading back to her bedroom.

__________♛__________

The dinner was awkward. Milah was constantly asking for Killian's attention, always trying to keep up a conversation with him and glaring daggers at Emma when Killian looked at her or talked with her. Emma felt really uncomfortable throughout the dinner and Ruby was quiet as well, which was really unusual for her.

"So, did you buy something at the market, Ruby?" Killian asked, trying to start up a conversation again.

"We went to the tailor first and we got a few dresses for Emma –" She started, she loved retelling her shopping tales but Emma interrupted her.

"I only bought one." Emma corrected.

"Uh, yeah, right." Ruby said, her cheeks getting a bit red. "Anyway, then we went to the jewelry store where we found this amazing necklace –" She was once again cut off by Emma.

"Which I will pay back of course." She clarified, not wanting to seem like she was taking advantage of them.

"- with a swan on it, which suits perfectly with Emma's name." Ruby continued as if Emma hadn't interrupted her.

"You don't have to pay it back, Emma. Take it as a gift from the both of us." Killian offered kindly. If looks could kill, Emma would have been killed a few times by Milah's deadly glare. She had to come up with a plan fast if she wanted to have Killian all to herself. It would be difficult though, Killian already seemed smitten with the blonde woman. She would have to ask her father for help, he would probably know what to do.

"No, it's alright. Once my arm is healed I'll work here at the castle until I paid for everything." Emma insisted again.

"You're a guest here, Emma. See it as a welcome gift or something." Killian insisted, giving Emma a look that would certainly make Emma agree with him.

Emma sighed. "Fine." She finally agreed with him which made him smile. They continued with their dinner with an easy conversation.

After dinner, Killian accompanied Emma to her room.

"Goodnight, milady." He said, bowing slightly and taking her hand so he could place a kiss on it.

"Goodnight, milord." She answered with a grin on her face.

When she was safely in her room, she let out a breath she didn't even knew she was holding. Every time she was with Killian, she felt lighter somehow. When she was getting ready, he was the only thing that was on her mind. She could only think about him until she fell asleep. And even in her dreams he didn't leave her alone.

 


	5. Simba

_She was running again, passing trees in her way. Stanley was chasing her, a riding crop in his hand and ready to hit her._

" _You can't run from me forever!" He shouted loudly, his voice echoing through the trees. She picked up her pace, running faster and faster until she saw the castle. She ran as fast as she could, hoping she would reach the palace soon. Just when she was about to reach the palace, Stanley got a hold on her._

" _I told you. You can't run from me, princess." Stanley's cruel voice said, sending shivers through Emma's spine._  
" _Please don't hurt me." Emma pleaded, her voice breaking and tears rolling over her cheeks._

" _But I have to teach you a lesson, my princess. How else are you going to learn?" He said with a smirk, holding the riding crop tightly in his right hand. She screamed when the crop hit her flesh for the first time, seeing the excitement in Stanley's eyes. He kept going until her body was covered in blood and the only thing she could see was black._

She awoke with a start, sad and annoyed that she was still having nightmares every night. She knew she was safe from Stanley here but her subconscious couldn't keep him out of her dreams. There was no chance that she could head back to sleep now so she decided to get ready for breakfast. She wore one of Ruby's dresses since she still didn't have dresses of her own. That would change soon though, today Ruby and Emma were heading back to the market so they could pick up the dresses they had ordered.

"Come in." She said when she heard a knock on her door.

"Oh good, you're awake already!" Ruby said, already awake and dressed herself.

"Yeah, the sun woke me up." Emma lied, not wanting anyone to know that she was still dreaming about Stanley. She didn't want to deal with the pity they would give her and she certainly didn't want to talk about her dreams either.

"Do you want to join me for breakfast?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah sure, I'm starving." Emma said with a smile, placing her flats on her feet before following Ruby to the dining room so they could eat their breakfast.

"Where's Killian?" Ruby asked one of the servants. Normally he waited for Ruby to start his breakfast, not enjoying eating alone.

"He had some business to attend to." The servant replied, putting some bread on the breakfast table.

"Alright. We'll see him later then." Ruby said, beginning on her breakfast and starting a pleasant conversation with Emma.

__________♛__________

Killian woke up early, planning on going to the market before Emma and Ruby arrived. He wanted to surprise Emma with a gift. During the little time she had lived with them, she had already made her way in his heart. He loved having her around and she gave great advice when he was stuck on a problem.

He asked a passing servant to ask the groom to prepare his horse for a ride and then went to the kitchen to grab some breakfast quickly. His horse was ready to go just when he finished his breakfast. He mounted his priced steed, Vos, and quickly made his way towards the market. It only took him 10 minutes before he arrived. The market was already full with people. He bought an apple from an old man so he could give it to his horse.

"I'll be back soon, boy." He said before giving his horse to one of the stable hands that took care of the horses at the market. He gave him a few gold pieces before heading off to one of the stores.

He was thinking about his walk with Emma in the forest the day before. They had been walking for about 20 minutes, talking about various things, when they passed a black kitten.

" _Poor thing." Emma said, picking up the kitten. "We can't just leave him here, Killian." She gave him her best puppy eyes and Killian couldn't resist them._

" _Sure, you can take care of him." He said. Emma smiled widely and quickly gave him a peck on his cheek._

" _Sorry." She said shyly before walking away with the kitten in her arm. She hadn't planned on kissing his cheek but she loved the feeling of his stubble on her lips._

" _It's alright." He said, placing his fingers on the spot where she had kissed him._

He smiled back at the memory, placing his fingers on his cheek again. He shook his head and smiled widely. He arrived at the pet store, looking for something Emma's new cat would definitely enjoy. He bought a few toys, a small cat basket so he wouldn't have to sleep in Emma's bed anymore until something caught his eye. He asked one of the shopkeepers if he could bring it over to the castle and made his way back to his horse. Once Vos was ready, they headed back to the castle.

__________♛__________

They arrived at the market, Emma was still in awe even though it was her second time here. Ruby rolled her eyes at Emma's excitement but smiled because she couldn't deny that it was cute.

"Your dresses are over there." Erica said with a smile, pointing at the 5 dresses that were folded and ready to be picked up.

"Hang on, I thought I only ordered one dress?" Emma said confused when she saw Erica pointing to 5 dresses.

"I might have ordered 4 more dresses." Ruby said, feigning being guilty.

"Ruby." Emma whined. "I told you I don't want you to spend so much money on me."

"You need at least of few dresses though." Ruby explained. "What were you going to do if the one dress you have is being washed? Were you going to walk around naked or something?"

"You might have a point there." Emma admitted. "But 5 dresses? Ruby, that's way too much."

"Erica already made them so you can't return them." Ruby said with a smirk. "Just accept them and enjoy wearing them. It'll make me happy to see you wearing these dresses proudly."

"Thank you, Ruby." Emma said gratefully, hugging Ruby tightly.

"You're welcome." Ruby said, returning Emma's hug. "Come on, let's try them on! It's definitely the best part of dress shopping! Try the red one first!" She said with excitement, smiling brightly at Emma. Emma smiled back at Ruby and took the red dress from the pile. She went to the back of the store so she could try it on. The red dress was simple yet elegant. The sweetheart neckline covered with diamonds covered Emma's chest modestly.

"You look so beautiful, Emma!" Ruby said, getting closer to Emma so she could inspect the dress better. "It really suits you!"

"Thank you." Emma replied with a smile, still looking in the mirror in awe. "I really love it too!"

"I'm glad you like it." Erica smiled, this was definitely the best part of her job, seeing her costumers happy.

"Thank you so much, Erica!" Emma said genuinely. Erica smiled in response, giving the other dresses to Ruby so they could take them to their carriage.

__________♛__________

While Ruby and Emma were picking up the dresses they had ordered, Killian was spending time with Milah.

"Do you want to go horseback riding?" Killian asked.

"I can't. I don't have anything to wear." Milah answered coldly.

Killian had to fight the urge to roll his eyes but failed. "What do you want to do then?" He asked a bit annoyed.

"Can we go to the market?" Milah asked.

"Maybe another time." He answered, he already went that day and wasn't looking forward to go again, with Milah no less.

"Alright. I'm going to read a book." She said. "Maybe we can go on a walk later today?" She asked before giving Killian a kiss on the cheek and walking away.

__________♛__________

"Would you like to go on a walk with me?" Killian asked. Emma was sitting on a bench in the garden, peacefully reading a book.

"I thought we were having dinner soon." Emma said, closing her book and standing up from the bench.

"I've got it covered." He said with a smile, offering his arm for Emma to take. Emma laced her arm with Killian's and together they walked towards the forest. They were walking for 10 minutes until they arrived at Killian's secret spot.

"We are here." Killian said, showing Emma the spot he liked to go to when he wanted to clear his head.

"It's so beautiful here." Emma said in awe, looking at the waterfall and the lake.

"I know." He said, looking at Emma instead of the landscape he had seen so many times before.

"I have something for you." Killian said when they had finished their food. He took something out his coat pocket.

"Thank you." Emma said before taking the box from his hands. Inside the box was a collar for her new cat and a matching bracelet for her. "It's so beautiful." Emma said in awe. The collar was a light blue with a few diamonds on them. Killian took the bracelet from Emma's hand and wrapped it around her wrist.

"It looks good on you." He complemented.

"It's really beautiful." Emma said with a smile, looking at the bracelet on her wrist.

"I'm glad you like it." He smiled.

"Have you chosen a name already?" Killian asked curiously, talking about the black kitten she had given a home to.

"Yeah, I have." Emma blushed. "I named him Simba." She said with a smile.

"How did you come up with it?" He asked, taking a strawberry from the basket.

"It's from the movie, the Lion King. I loved the movie when I was little. I like the meaning of the name." She said, grabbing a strawberry herself. "It means Lion."

"What's a movie?" Killian asked, wondering what she was talking about.

"Ooh euhm." She started, she had no idea how she could explain this to someone who wasn't raised in her own world. "It's like a play, but you can watch it from your TV so you don't have to go to the theater." She tried to explain. "Sorry, I don't know how I can explain this properly."

"It's alright." He smiled at her, taking her hands from her face so he could hold them. "I like the name a lot." Emma smiled back at him, they were staring into each other eyes before Milah interrupted them.

"Oh, here you are. I was wondering where you were, Killian." Milah said, glaring daggers at Emma.

"I was having a lovely dinner with Emma." Killian said annoyed, still holding Emma's hand.

"I can see that." She tried to keep her voice even but Emma still noticed the slightly jealous and annoyed tone in her voice.

"We were just about to head back to the castle." Emma said, standing up and beginning to clean everything up.

"Maybe we can take that walk you promised me earlier today." Milah said with a smirk, wanting nothing more than to take Killian away from Emma. Killian looked at Emma apologetically.

"It's okay." Emma said to Killian, slightly annoyed by Milah's interruption.

"I'm sorry." Killian whispered to himself when Emma was walking away, heading back to the castle alone, before walking to the other side of the forest with Milah; not wanting to stay at his secret spot with Milah any longer.

 


	6. Riding lessons

"Daddy!" Milah whined, stepping inside her father's chamber.

"What's wrong, darling?" King Alexander asked his daughter, setting his book down on the table beside him.

"I don't know what to do about Emma and Killian. He only wants to spend time with her." Milah sat down in a chair beside her father.

"I'll distract Emma as much as possible. The only thing you need to do is just try and win Killian over, our kingdom really needs his money. Can you do that, sweetheart?" King Alexander said harshly.

"I'll try, daddy. Thank you." Milah stood up, giving her father a kiss on the cheek before heading towards her room so she could change her dress the second time that day.

__________♛__________

Emma's arm was finally healed, making it the perfect opportunity to start horseback riding lessons. Killian was patiently teaching her, he even gave Emma her own horse. Buttercup was a beautiful, 18 year old white mare.

"Kick her gently in the flanks and she will trot." Killian said, Emma did what she was told and Buttercup started trotting. "Keep your hands still so you won't pull too much in her mouth." He gave Emma a big smile when she did as she was told.

"You're doing great, Emma!" Killian said after 10 minutes, Emma had Buttercup perfectly under control after only 10 minutes of riding.

"This is so great!" Emma said, smiling at Killian.

"You're a natural, Swan." Killian smiled back, holding Buttercup by the reigns. "Why don't we practice the trot some more and maybe I can teach you how to gallop tomorrow, how does that sound?"

"Sounds good." Emma replied. "When can I learn how to jump?"

Killian smirked. "We'll have to wait some more until we're sure you're not going to fall off. Maybe in a few weeks we can try your first jump."

"Fine." Emma pouted, secretly looking forward to more lessons from Killian.

"Now, let's ride some more." Killian said, letting go off Buttercup's reigns. With that, Emma walked away on Buttercup's back, smiling for the rest of her lesson.

__________♛__________

Ruby was watching the lesson with a smile on her face, knowing that it wouldn't take Emma that long to master riding skills. When Emma was experienced enough, she would take her to one of her favorite spots in the kingdom. It was two hours away though so Emma would get used to sitting in the saddle before they could go.

"You're doing great, Emma!" Ruby said encouragely.

"It's more difficult than I expected." Emma said, concentrating on Buttercup's movements.

"You're a natural." Ruby said and Emma blushed. "It won't take long before we can go to my favorite spot."

"Where is it?" Emma asked curiously.

"It's a two hour ride from here but I promise it'll be worth it. Maybe we can go in a few weeks if you want? I'm sure if you practice every day, we'll be able to go." Ruby said excitingly.

"That would be great. I'm already looking forward to it." Emma said with a large smile.

"Come on, let's practice some more." Ruby said before trotting away in the ring.

"I have to go, I have some business to attend to." Killian said to Emma, giving her a quick kiss on her hand before walking back to the palace. Emma watched him leave before following Ruby on Buttercup.

__________♛__________

Milah had watched the exchange between Emma and Killian from inside the castle. When she saw Killian leaving Emma and Ruby, she knew it was her chance to get Killian's attention.

"Hello, Killian. How was your day?" Milah asked when Killian walked inside.

"It was fine, thank you." Killian answered. Not wanting to stop to make small talk with Milah, he just kept walking towards the throne room.

"Can you teach me to ride as well, Killian?" Milah asked sweetly, giving him a sly smile.

"Um, yeah, of course." Killian answered, not really sure why she wanted to learn to ride now.

"Do you have time tomorrow?" Milah asked, wanting to spend some time together as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, I'm free in the morning. I'll give you your riding lesson first and then I'll teach Emma." Killian said, smiling when Emma's name left his mouth.

"Oh, okay." The annoyed expression on Milah's face when he mentioned Emma's name didn't go unnoticed by Killian.

Killian gave her an annoyed look. "I have to go, I'll see you tomorrow morning at 11. Don't be late." With that he walked away, making his way towards the throne room.

__________♛__________

"Have you taking lessons before?" Killian asked Milah, who was doing an outstanding job for someone who has never ridden a horse before.

"No, my father didn't allow me to take lessons when I was younger." Milah lied smoothly. She had been taking lessons since she was 5 years old. Her mother loved horseback riding and so did she. At first, her father wasn't really excited about her taking riding lessons 3 times a week but after winning a few competitions, her father became very proud of her accomplishments. She, of course, couldn't tell Killian about all her trophies. She did want to impress him so she rode excellent today. Killian gave her a suspicious look though, not really believing she hadn't ridden a horse before.

"Well, Emma will be here soon so we'll have to continue this lesson another time." Killian said, already excited about seeing Emma again today.

Milah left the riding ring with Cloud, a horse Killian let her borrow for her lessons. Emma came in the ring a few minutes after Milah left.

"Hello, love." Killian said, instantly smiling when he saw Emma on Buttercup's back.

"Hi." Emma smiled back. "Thank you again for giving her to me. She's really amazing."

"Only the best for you." Killian said flirtingly, making Emma blush slightly.

"Shall we begin?" Emma asked, masking the blush on her cheeks by turning her head a bit. Killian however noticed the slight blush, making him smile with pride how he was able to make her blush.

"Sure." Killian said, still having a smirk on his lips. "We'll begin with some walking today, making sure she's warmed up before we exercise with her." Emma kicked Buttercup softly in her side, making her walk at a slow pace. After 10 minutes of walking Buttercup in and talking to Killian, he announced that it was time to start trotting. Emma did as she was told, enjoying the movements with Buttercup.

At the end of the lesson, Killian finally let her gallop with Buttercup. She has never felt so free before, she felt like she was flying. She smiled the entire time, having the best time.

"Thank you so much, Killian. I really enjoyed training today." She said as she was walking with Buttercup after her lesson.

"It was my pleasure." Killian said with a small smile. He took a look at the time and frowned, they had been riding for the past two hours, making him late for his appointment with a neighboring king.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked when she saw Killian frowning.

"I'm late for an appointment." He said cheekily. "Is it alright if I leave?"

"Don't worry about me." Emma replied, petting Buttercup.

"Make sure you walk at least 10 more minutes before untacking her so she can cool down from the training." With that he left in a hurry, making his way back to the castle quickly.

Emma watched him running back to the castle with a smile on her face.

__________♛__________

Emma took her time with unsaddling and brushing Buttercup, bonding a bit with her new horse. She gave Buttercup an apple as a treat before putting her back in her stable. Afterwards she grabbed Buttercup's saddle and went to the tack room, making sure she got everything with her so she could put everything in the right place. When she was in the tack room, she suddenly heard the door being closed. She quickly placed the saddle in its place before running to the closed door. She tried to open it but the door didn't bulge. She tried screaming for help but nobody heard her. She kept knocking on the door for 15 minutes before she gave up and sat down on the floor.

"Shit." She said, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. After a few hours her throat started to hurt from thirst and her stomach was rumbling. She had a light breakfast and didn't eat much during her lunch because she had her riding lesson with Killian just after lunch. She had planned to grab something to eat after her riding lesson.

"They so need phones in this place!" She said annoyed. It was getting hot in the tack room and her thirst and empty stomach weren't helping her. She laid down on the floor, feeling dizzy from the heat and soon darkness took over.

__________♛__________

King Alexander smirked when he heard Emma scream for help from the tack room. He hid the key in the hay before he made his way to his daughter's room.

"Daddy!" Milah said, standing up from the couch so she could bring her father in for a hug.

"I locked Emma up in the tack room. I wonder how long it will take for them to find her, if they find her at all. It'll be hot in there soon enough." King Alexander said with an evil smirk.

"Thank you, father." Milah smirked back.

"I'll see you at dinner." King Alexander said before making his way back to his own room again so he could freshen up.

__________♛__________

"Where's Emma?" Killian asked nervously when Emma hadn't come down for dinner that evening.

"I haven't seen her all day, Killian." Ruby responded nervously as well.

"We need to find. She could have been kidnapped or something." Killian said, standing up from his chair and making his way to the door.

"Wait, Killian. I'm coming with you." Ruby said, standing up from her chair as well. "Where should we start searching?"

"Let's ask some of the maids if they have seen Emma." Killian offered. Ruby nodded and together they made their way to the maid's chambers. They asked Emma's maids if they had seen her recently but none of them had seen her all day. The last time they saw her was before her riding lesson with Killian.

"Let's check the stables. Maybe she has lost track of time or maybe she went for a walk with Buttercup." Ruby said, already making her way towards the stables with Killian following her closely.

When they arrived at the stables, they saw Buttercup happily eating her food in her stable.

"She's not here." Killian said worriedly. Ruby looked around some more, seeing nothing was wrong with the place.

"Let's inform some guards. The more people searching for her, the sooner we can find her." Killian said, walking back to the castle to gather some guards.

After informing the guards, everyone went back searching again. A group of 10 guards were searching the woods. Killian, Ruby and 5 other guards were searching the castle grounds. After 3 hours of searching, they still hadn't found her.

"I'm going back to the stables." Killian announced. "Maybe we missed something. If not, I'm going to help the guards in the woods with my horse." Ruby nodded but decided to stay inside, hoping she would find Emma somewhere safe in the castle.

__________♛__________

"Emma!" Killian yelled when he was back in the stables. Hearing no reply, he went to the tack room to get his saddle and the rest of his tack. He tried to open the door but the door didn't open. Realizing someone must have locked the door, he started searching for the key. The door to the tack room was never locked, he trusted everyone enough in the castle. He saw something glistering in the hay. Taking a better look, he noticed it was a key. He rushed to the hay and picked up the key, quickly running back to the locked room. He opened the door and saw an unconscious Emma laying on the floor. Killian quickly picked Emma up and ran back to the castle.

"I need the doctor!" He yelled, still carrying Emma bridal style in his arms until he stood in front of his room. The doctor was already there. He gently laid Emma down on his bed, letting the doctor do his work.

Killian waited outside so the doctor could examine Emma in peace. Ruby was already waiting outside his room, pacing impatiently in the hallway.

"What happened, Killian?" She asked worriedly when Killian stood beside her.

"I have no idea. The door to the tack room was locked so I think someone shut the door behind her. She was unconscious and it was really hot in the small room. She must have been there for ages." Killian explained, it was nearing midnight and everyone was beyond tired.

"Who would have done something like that? Everyone loves Emma!" Ruby said with a shocked expression, not believing someone could do something like that to Emma.

"I have no idea." Killian said angrily. "But I'm going to find out."

The doctor came into the hallway after 15 minutes.

"She's fine. She is dehydrated from the lack of water and the hot room and also a bit hungry but she'll live. She needs to take it easy though for the next couple of days. Take good care of her." The doctor said.

"I will." Killian answered, making his way back into his bedroom.

Emma was awake by now, she was laying in Killian's soft bed.

"Hi, love." Killian said softly, sitting down beside her.

"Hey." Emma said sleepily, resting her head on the soft pillows.

"You scared us today." Killian whispered, taking Emma's hand in his.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. One moment I was putting everything back in the tack room and before I knew it someone locked me up in there." Emma explained softly.

"Did you see anyone before you were locked up?" Killian asked, hoping Emma saw who locked the door behind her.

"No, I didn't. I'm sorry I can't help you." Emma said, intertwining her fingers with Killian's, closing her eyes when she felt tired again.

"Sleep now, my love. I'll see you in the morning." Killian said, laying down in the couch beside his bed and letting sleep take over.

 


	7. Magic

"How are you feeling, love?" Killian asked as Emma walked into the room for breakfast.

"Better. Thank you for asking." Emma sat down opposite from Killian, they were waiting for Ruby to join them. They made some small talk for 10 minutes until Ruby finally decided to join them.

"Emma!" Ruby said, rushing to Emma so she could pull her into a hug. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, thanks Ruby." Emma sat back down in the chair opposite from Killian while Ruby decided to sit beside her brother.

The servants brought in some bread, eggs, milk and lots of different fruits for breakfast. The three of them ate in comfortable silence until they were full.

"So what are you guys doing today?" Ruby asked curiously.

"No, not really." Emma replied, looking at Killian to see if they had planned something.

"Do you want to go on a ride today, Emma?" Killian asked, hoping she would say yes.

"I don't know." Emma said hesitantly. "I really don't want to get stuck in that room again."

"I'll be with you all the time, love. Don't worry about getting stuck." Killian replied, understanding why she didn't really want to go to the stables anymore.

"Yeah, sure. Then I'll go with you on a ride today." Emma replied with a large smile on her face. Killian smiled back and they gazed into each other's eyes until they heard Ruby clearing her throat.

"All right, love birds. I'm going to the market. Do you guys need anything?" Emma and Killian both shook their heads. Ruby headed out to the stables first so she could leave for the market immediately while Killian and Emma went back to their rooms to get changed in more appropriate clothes before going on their small trip.

   _____________♛____________

"I just don't know what to do, daddy!" Milah said . "They just keep coming back to each other, no matter what I do!"

"Then try harder! You had one task, keeping them apart." King Alexander told his daughter. "It's time that you start playing dirty."

"How do I do that?" Milah asked her father curiously.

"Get rid of Emma." King Alexander said seriously.

"Like what, kill her?" Milah asked, she couldn't do that, no matter how much she hated Emma.

"Just think of something, alright? The future of our kingdom depends on you." King Alexander pointed his finger at Milah. "I need to leave in a few days so you'll need to do it all on your own from now on."

"Why do you have to leave so soon?" Milah asked, she couldn't do this without her father, she would be all alone in this castle.

"I've already been here too long, Milah. I do have a kingdom to run. Alright, sweetheart?" Milah nodded her head and hugged her father.

_____________♛____________

"I've wanted to show you this place for ages but I've never had the chance to bring you there." Killian said, placing the saddle on his horse's back.

"Where are you taking me?" Emma asked, brushing Buttercup's manes.

"To my secret get-away place. I always go there when I want to be alone, but I really want to show you." Killian said, he had never brought anyone there, not even Ruby. It was his secret place but he couldn't wait to share it with Emma.

"I can't wait to see it." Emma said, finishing with Buttercup's brushing session before getting the saddle. With the help of Killian, both horses were saddled up in 15 minutes and they were both ready to leave the castle grounds.

They trotted in the forest for an hour until they reached Killian's spot. It was beautiful. Emma gasped in awe when she saw the waterfall and the small lake, trees were covering the entrance, making it hard to notice it.

"It's gorgeous here. I can understand why this is your favorite spot." Emma said, dismounting Buttercup. Killian took the reins of both horses, tying them to a near-by tree so they wouldn't get away. He took Emma's hand and led her to small rocks where they could sit on and have a snack.

"I brought these." Killian held up some strawberries and cookies.

"Thank you. I was starting to get hungry from the riding." Emma replied with a giggle, making Killian chuckle in response.

They ate and stayed at their special spot for a few hours, enjoying each other's company. They talked about everything that came up into their minds, laughing and joking, telling each other stories about their childhoods until it was getting dark and their hungry stomachs protested. They decided to head back home to the castle so they gathered their horses and made their way back to the castle.

____________♛____________

"Rumpelstiltskin." Milah called, she was in the Woods; out of sight of the servants lingering around in the castle.

"Rumpelstiltskin." She called again a few minutes later, louder this time.

She waited again, getting really annoyed that Rumpelstiltskin was ignoring her calls. "Rumples-"

"No need to shout, dearie." Rumpelstiltskin appeared in front of Milah who shut her mouth immediately when she heard Rumple's voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were coming." Milah apologized .

"Now, why were you calling me, dearie?" Rumpelstiltskin asked with a giggle.

"I want you to get rid of Emma. I need to win King Killian's heart so I can become queen and our kingdoms will merge into one." Milah explained.

"Well, dearie. All magic comes with a price. It depends on you if you want to pay that price." Rumpelstiltskin said with a giggle.

"What's your price?" Milah asked curiously.

"In return of disposing of this Emma, I want your first born child." With his magic, he made a contract appear in his hands. "All you need to do is sign on the dotted line."

Milah thought it over and took the pen from. "When are you getting rid of her?"

"All in good time, dearie. All in good time." A puff of smoke surrounded Rumpelstiltskin, making him disappear and leaving Milah alone in the forest.

_____________♛____________

"I really enjoyed myself today. Thank you, Killian." Emma said, they walked back to her room so they could head to bed after eating dinner.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Killian replied, soon enough they reached Emma's bedroom.

"I really like you, Emma." Killian said, running his thumb over Emma's cheek.

Emma leaned into the touch, closing her eyes as his thumb came in contact with her skin. Emma opened her eyes and locked them with Killian's. They were both thinking the same thing as they both leaned forward until their lips met, making sparks erupt around them. They kissed until they were breathless.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, love." Killian said before walking away towards his own room. Emma quickly entered her room, leaving out a breath she didn't even know she was holding in. She looked at her hands that were glistering with white sparks. She looked at her hands in confusion, not understanding what was happening to her. She shook it off, going to Simba who was sleeping on her bed.

She waited until the white glow on her hands was going before sitting on the bed beside her cat. Simba looked up, annoyed that Emma woke him up from his slumber but snuggled closer to her anyway. She laughed and petted him before going under the covers as well, falling fast asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow.


	8. Kidnapped

"Killian?" Emma had been looking everywhere for Killian, not finding him everywhere. It had been a few days since their kiss and Emma hadn't told anyone about the white glow on her hands, scared that she would have to leave the castle over this.

"Killian?" She knocked on his bedroom door and peaked inside, seeing Killian sitting by his desk. He had a flask in his hand, sipping from it every few seconds. Emma hesitantly stepped inside the room, trying to get Killian's attention. "Killian?"

Killian looked up from the papers in front of him, giving Emma an annoyed look. "What is it now, lass?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go riding today." Emma asked as sweetly as she could, really looking forward to spend more time with Killian.

"Why would I want to go riding today? Can't you see that I'm busy?" Killian yelled angerly, clearly drunk, with some papers in front of him.

"Killian, are you drunk? It's only 11 am." Emma said, slowly stepping closer to Killian.

"Since when do I have to explain myself to a mere servant? I'm the king for goodness sakes!" He threw some papers in Emma's direction, getting more annoyed by the second.

"Is that how you see me?" Emma's voice cracked when she asked that question, having difficulties to keep the tears pooling in her eyes at bay.

"Just leave me alone!" Killian yelled, making Emma cringe back in fear. Emma left the room immediately, not knowing what was going on with Killian.

__________♛__________

Emma was sitting on a bench in the garden, wiping the last tears from her cheeks. When Ruby noticed that Emma was crying, she immediately ran towards Emma.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Ruby asked worried, sitting beside Emma on the bench.

"It's nothing." Emma said with a small smile, drying the last tears from her face with the back of her sleeve.

"If it was nothing, you wouldn't be crying about it." Ruby said with a small smile, hoping Emma would tell her what was going on.

"It's just that Killian was drunk and got really angry at me. He called me a servant, basically saying he was better than me because he is the king." Emma explained, Ruby listened carefully, closing her eyes because she realized that her brother must be drunk.

"It's not you he's angry at. Last year, on this day, our brother Liam and our dad died. The three of us were really close, always doing things we weren't supposed to do. Killian had become king so suddenly. He wasn't prepared to take the throne, especially since he was still grieving. I helped him as much as I could but I was also mourning the death of Liam and my dad. He was drunk a lot, I had to step in to get the paperwork done. When he was officially crowed 6 months ago, he stopped drinking, getting his act together. He has been doing really well since you are here. I hoped he wouldn't touch the rum today, but I was clearly wrong." Ruby explained with a sad look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ruby. I didn't know about any of this." Emma said sadly, feeling stupid now because she cried.

"It's alright, Emma. I'm heading back inside. Do you want to come back in with me?" Ruby asked, standing up from the bench she was sitting on.

"I'll catch up with you later, alright?" Emma said, the weather was beautiful and she wanted to catch some sunlight before heading back inside.

"Alright, I'll see you later." Ruby said, walking back towards the castle.

__________♛__________

After ten minutes, Emma made up her mind and she decided to check on Killian to see if he did anything stupid. She went back to Killian's bedroom and knocked softly on the door again. When she didn't get an answer, she quietly opened the door, hoping she wasn't interrupting him.

She peeked inside and saw Milah sitting on Killian's lap. Killian had his back towards her and Milah opened her eyes at the sound of the door opening. When she saw Emma standing there with a shocked expression on her face, she couldn't help but smirk at her. Killian placed his mouth on Milah's neck, sucking on the skin there. Milah winked teasingly at Emma, knowing that the scene in front of her would effect Emma. She also hoped that she ruined their relationship over this.

Emma watched with her mouth open before she snaps back to reality and closes the door again. With tears in her eyes, she runs into the forest, wanting to clear the image of Milah kissing Killian right in front of her. She kept running until she couldn't see the castle anymore. She sat down near a tree and cried. She was falling for Killian, fast and hard, so seeing him with someone else broke her heart.

"Why are you so sad, dearie?" Rumpelstiltskin asked with a giggle.

Emma jumped up at the sudden sound of a stranger's voice. In front of her, a man with a glistering skin stood proudly in front of her. She jumped up, scared of the creature. She didn't know what to do so she ran. She ran as fast as she could, hoping the creature wouldn't follow her. She suddenly regretted not staying on the castle grounds, where she was safe.

She ran for 10 minutes straight. She didn't hear any sounds coming from behind her so she looked back, not seeing the creature anymore. She sighed with relief, happy she could ditch the scary man.

"You thought you could out-run me?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, appearing with a puff of smoke. Emma screamed in fear and started running again. She didn't get too far before Rumpelstiltskin grabbed her by her arm, halting her movements.

"Not so fast, dearie. We have some business to discuss." With a puff of smoke, he transported both of them to his castle. Emma looked around her in fear, no idea what was happening.

"Where did you take me?" Emma asked frightened.

"To my castle, of course." Rumpelstiltskin said, proudly showing off his large castle.

"Why am I here?" Emma demanded. "Who are you?"

"The name's Rumpelstiltskin. And we, dearie, have some business." He explained, bowing as he said his name.

"Business?" Emma asked confused. "What business are you talking about? I don't even know you!"

"Someone wanted me to get rid of you. I was planning on just killing you but then I sensed your magic. We are going to have so much fun together." Rumpelstiltskin explained with an annoying giggle.

Emma looked at the magician with a shocked look on her face. "Getting rid of me? Who wanted me gone?"

"That's for me to know and for you to wonder." Rumpelstiltskin said, leading Emma to the dungeons. "When did you find out you have magic?"

"I-I didn't know for sure what it was." Emma stuttered. She knew something weird was going on when she kissed Killian, but magic? She never thought of that possibility.

"You, dearie, are the product of true love. You have light magic." Rumpelstiltskin explained.

"The product of true love? What does that even mean?" Emma asked, not understanding what the man in front of her was saying.

"You'll know soon enough. Enjoy your stay here." Rumpelstiltskin said sarcastically as he pushed Emma in one of the cells.

"You can't keep me in here! It's freezing, I'm going to get sick if I stay in here too long." Emma complained, not looking forward to spend a lot of time in the small cell.

Rumpelstiltskin poofed a thick blanket in his hands with his magic and gave it to Emma. "Now you have nothing to complain about."

Emma took the blanket, realizing Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't let her go so she sighed and made her way towards the cot in the middle of the cell. She looked around in disgust, not liking it in there at all. She hoped Ruby would have noticed that she was gone by now but she didn't know how they would be able to find her. She didn't even know where she was. She tried to sleep, the images of Milah and Killian were flashing before her, making it hard to fall asleep. After a few hours of tossing around, she finally managed to fall in a restless slumber.

 

 


	9. Looking for Emma

He woke up with a pounding headache and a hung over. He felt someone's naked body beside him, he looked over and saw Milah's face, sleeping peacefully on the pillow next to him. His eyes opened wide as he realized what he had done the night before. He remembered shouting at Emma, saying things he didn't mean to say. He sighed and rubbed his hand on his face in frustration. He got out of his bed and put on some clothes before silently making his way out of his room, hoping he wouldn't wake Milah up. He was not in the mood to deal with her.

He quietly made his way towards Emma's room, knocking softly on her door. He didn't hear an answer, which was odd, so he pushed her door open slightly. He stepped into the room and saw that her bed wasn't slept in, making Killian worried. He ran out of the room in search for Ruby, hoping Emma spend the night with Ruby. He found Ruby sleeping sound asleep, no Emma in sight. He quickly made his way towards his sister and shook her awake.

Ruby groaned, covering her eyes at the few rays of sunshine in her room. "What do you want?" She asked annoyed.

"Do you know where Emma is?" Killian asked worried, Ruby shot up from the bed.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, still half asleep.

"I went to her room to apologize for yesterday but she wasn't there. She isn't here either. I have no idea where she could have gone." Killian explained to Ruby.

"Maybe in the stables? I haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon. I thought she was with you since you also didn't come down for dinner last night." Ruby quickly got out of her bed, grabbing one of her dresses.

"I'll get some guards. Maybe one of them has seen Emma somewhere." Killian said, rushing out of the room.

Ruby got dressed as quickly as she could, deciding not to wear a corset as it would take too much time to get a maid. She quickly followed her brother outside.

"I've asked a few guards if they saw anything but they didn't see anything suspicious. If she isn't here on the castle grounds, she must have left yesterday afternoon already.

"She did say something about you being drunk and angry. She told me you shouted at her and called her a mere servant. She was really upset when I last saw her." Ruby said, hating herself for not checking up on Emma again.

"That's why I wanted to apologize to her. I messed up, really bad. Where could she have gone to?" Killian asked, he was feeling really guilty for what happened.

"Let's just try to find her first, we'll worry about your drunken mistake later." Ruby said, missing the way Killian gulped at the mention of a drunken mistake. She had no idea how much mistakes he had made the night before.

__________♛__________

After searching everywhere, with the help of 15 guards, they still hadn't found Emma.

"She's not here anymore." Killian said, punching a nearby wall in anger.

"Just calm down, alright?" Ruby said, taking Killian's arm so he wouldn't be able to punch the wall again. "Maybe we can ask the Blue Fairy for help. She might be able to track her down."

"Alright, let's give it a shot." Killian said, knowing it was their only chance to find Emma.

__________♛__________

The Blue Fairy came immediately after being called by Killian.

"What's wrong?" The Blue Fairy asked, looking confused at Killian's worried expression.

"Something happened to Emma. We can't find her anywhere and I have a feeling something happened to her." Killian explained.

"Do you have anything of hers? Maybe I'll be able to track her down." The Blue Fairy explained, she could already sense the dark magic in the air, not promising anything good.

"Yes, I'll get something from her room." Ruby rushed to Emma's room, quickly grabbing one of her scarves she wore often.

"Here you go." Ruby gave the scarf to the Blue Fairy.

"Alright. Let's see where this will bring us." Blue did a spell over the scarf, it floated through the air, marking the path Emma took. The scarf led them to the forest, but it suddenly stopped.

"What does this mean?" Killian asked, not understanding why it suddenly stopped moving.

"It can only mean that she was transported to somewhere else by someone who has magic." The Blue Fairy explained, getting more worried as well. "I can sense a lot of dark magic here and it can only mean one thing."

Killian and Ruby looked at the Blue Fairy in question. "Rumpelstiltskin has her."

__________♛__________

Emma woke up in the dungeon, feeling cold. Her throat started hurting during the night, most likely from the cold and the dampness.

"Good morning, dearie." Rumpelstiltskin suddenly poofed himself in front of Emma. Emma sat up in the bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"When are you taking me back to Killian?" Emma asked, but she already knew Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't let her go back.

"Once I've stripped you from your magic, I'll see what I can do for you." Of course he remembered the deal he made with Milah, but 'getting rid' of someone does have a lot of meanings. Their contract never stated that he would kill her.

"But I don't want to give you my magic." Emma said angrily, she didn't understand why he wanted her magic as well. "Aren't you already powerful enough without my magic?"

"Of course I'm already powerful, but I want to go to the land without magic without going through a magic portal, only with a lot of light magic I'll be able to do that." Rumpelstiltskin explained, Emma didn't understand most of what he was saying though.

"Come on, dearie. Let's see how we can get your magic stripped." Rumpelstiltskin took Emma by her arm, leading her out of her cell.

__________♛__________

"We need to get her away from that demon." Killian said angrily, he didn't like the idea of Emma spending too much time with that crocodile.

"Why does he even want her?" Ruby asked confused, it didn't make any sense.

"We need to come up with a plan. I don't want her to spend any more time with that demon." Killian stated, getting a few guards.

"You don't even know how to get there." Ruby reasoned, hoping to get her brother to calm down.

"I have to try something! This is all my fault." Killian said, feeling even guiltier than before.

"Let's just try to get her home, alright. We'll worry about the rest later." Ruby said to her brother. They had more important things to do now.

"How can we get to Rumpelstiltskin's castle?" Killian asked the Blue Fairy who was waiting patiently on them.

"Do you have a ship?" The Blue Fairy asked the king. "It'll be faster to get there by ship."

"Yes, the Jolly Roger is the fastest ship in all the realms." Killian said proudly of his ship. It's been a while since he went on a travel with his ship though, being the king didn't give you a lot of free time to travel.

"Great, I'll draw the way to get there out. It'll take you at least 4 days to get there though." The Blue Fairy offered.

"The faster we leave, the sooner we'll get to Emma." Killian said. "Ruby, I need you to keep an eye out on the castle. Can you take over my business for a few days? Keep an eye on Milah as well, I don't trust her while I'm away."

Ruby thought it over, she really wanted to go with her brother in search for Emma but she knew she was much more needed at the castle. "Sure, leave it to me. Just get my best friend home safely."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be back soon." Killian gave his sister a hug and went straight to the docks. His ship and the crew were waiting patiently for him.

"Come on, lads! We need to leave as soon as possible." Killian yelled for the whole crew to hear. All the men ran around on the ship, preparing everything as hastily as possible. They left after half an hour and Killian was happy to leave that quickly. The Blue Fairy had left him a plan to get to the Dark Castle. It would take them 4 days to get to Rumpelstiltskin's land and another 5 hours to arrive at his castle. He hoped he would get there in time.

__________♛__________

"I think I've found the perfect way to get your magic, dearie. Don't worry. It won't hurt, much." With a giggle Rumpelstiltskin plunched his hand into Emma's chest, ready to take her heart out.


	10. Wish you were here

Rumpelstiltskin tried to get Emma's heart out of her chest, he kept tugging on it but it wouldn't bulge.

"Why isn't this working?" He said in between tugs.

Emma groaned in pain, she felt Rumpelstiltskin squeezing her heart, making tears prickle in her eyes.

"We'll have to find another way to strip you of your magic, dearie. But don't worry, we have all the time in the world." He giggled, took Emma by the arm and poofed them back to the dungeon. "In the meantime, you have the privilege to stay here."

Emma let out a groan as she hit the cold, wet floor of the cell. She got up as fast as she could, hoping to get out of the cell before the door closed. Rumpelstiltskin already walked out of the cell and the door closed right in front of her. Knowing she wouldn't be getting out of the cell soon, she sat back on the cot that was supposed to be her bed.

__________♛__________

"Alright lads, another 2 days to go and we'll finally reach Rumpelstiltskin's castle!" Killian said, they had been on the ocean for 2 days, going as fast as they could. Of course the crew was getting tired, getting almost no sleep, but they did what they could for their king. Killian was proud to have such an amazing crew. He was a lieutenant once, when his brother was the captain. Killian had already thought about being the captain of his own ship when Liam would be king because it wouldn't be necessary for him to stay at the palace. But after the tragic accident, he had to let go of his dream.

He had already dreamed of traveling with Emma, taking his ship so they could see far-away lands. But, of course, he had to make sure they found her first. It made him shudder to think about all the bad things Rumpelstiltskin could do to her.

"Your highness." The lieutenant said, trying to get Killian's attention back.

"Yes, lieutenant." Killian turned around to face his lieutenant, he had spaced out thinking about Emma.

"There is a storm coming, your highness." The lieutenant pointed to the big dark cloud coming towards the Jolly Roger, fast.

"That's not a storm! That's magic!" Killian had seen some magical stuff before so he knew that this wasn't just a normal storm, it was one made to throw them off their way towards Emma.

The crew scrambled around on the ship, trying to sail past the storm so it wouldn't hit them. Luckily for them, the Jolly Roger was the fastest ship in the realm, a ship that could outrun any storm.

"Come on, lads! Raise the sails!" Killian shouted, taking over the wheel so he could try and outrun the storm himself. One of the guards that was coming along with him on the trip tried to take him to his chamber but Killian wouldn't have it. He had spent many years on the ocean and he wasn't about to shy away from a challenge. He knew it was risky but he didn't care. He would try to outrun a million storms if it meant getting Emma back.

The storm came closer and closer, it was getting harder for the crew to control the ship.

"All hands on deck!" Killian yelled, a few men scrambled to the deck of the Jolly Roger, helping out where they could.

It didn't take too long before the crew was in the eye of the storm, there was no escaping. The magic was flying off, trying to hit everyone.

"Everyone, hold on to something so you won't fly overboard!" Killian yelled, gripping the steering wheel tighter in his hold. He tried to steer them out of the storm but it was hard, the magical wind kept them in place. The rest of the crew was trying to get the Jolly Roger out of the storm as well, pulling on the sails so they could help to steer the ship out of the magic.

After an hour, they finally got out of the storm. The crew, along with Killian, was spend. They were all tired from the massive work out they had to go through but they all felt relieved as well.

"Great job, lads. Let's go on with our trip as fast as we can so we can get to Emma as soon as possible." Killian said, he let half of the crew go to get some rest while the others had to help him with the Jolly Roger. Killian felt exhausted but he would rather get to Emma fast than get some sleep.

__________♛__________

Emma sat up when she heard the cell door being opened. A beautiful young woman walked in with some soup and bread. Placing it on Emma's cot.

"Who are you?" Emma asked curiously, wondering how such a beautiful woman would end up at Rumpelstiltskin's castle.

"My name's Belle, I'm Rumple's servant." Belle explained, she was asked by Rumpelstiltskin to bring their new prisoner some food but she had never expected such a young girl to occupy the dungeon.

"Thank you, for the food. I'm Emma by the way." Emma said, already taken a piece of bread from the plate. "I haven't eaten since I came here two days ago."

"Two days?" Belle asked stunned, if she had known there was someone down in the cells, she would have brought some food sooner.

Emma just nodded, she kept eating the food Belle had brought for her, happy to get something into her hungry stomach.

When she was finished, Belle took back the plate and the bowl and made her way out of the cell again, locking the door behind her with a lot of guilt. She wanted to free Emma, but she knew she couldn't. Rumpelstiltskin would be really angry at her if she tried that stunt again.

Emma laid down on her cot again, hoping Ruby or even Killian would notice she wasn't at the palace anymore.

__________♛__________

Ruby was having everything under control at the palace. She had taken care of all the paperwork for Killian, who was behind with organizing his papers in his study room. She tidied the room as well, trying not to think about Emma. She wished she had noticed her being taking by Rumpelstiltskin sooner, maybe they could have done something. Who knew what Emma was going through right now? She sighed and picked up another paper from the pile, putting it away where it belonged.

Her thoughts were once again about Emma.

"I hope you find her soon, Killian." Ruby whispered, holding her necklace as she looked out the window over the ocean.

 

**Happy once day! I'm so excited! I'm starting my internship tomorrow and I'm stressed out so much! I'm going to wake up at 3 am to watch the episode so I'll be so tired when I'll have my first day of work. But anything for Once, right?**

 


	11. Rescue mission

Rumpelstiltskin angrily pushed the book with magic spells back onto the shelf. He huffed as he took yet another book from the bookcase. He didn't seem to find what he was looking for – a magic spell to obtain Emma's powers. He looked in almost every book inside his castle but there was still no way for him to take the savior's light magic.

"What am I going to do with you, dear Emma?" Rumpelstiltskin mumbled to himself. He paced around the room, hoping to find a solution to his question. It then suddenly hit him; he poofed himself to the dungeon where Emma was shivering from the cold. She looked up at the figure that was standing in front of her.

Emma glared at the sight of her captor in front of her.

"What's wrong, dearie? Aren't you happy to see me?" Rumpelstiltskin asked sarcastically, poofing a blanket in his hand so he could give it to Emma.

"No, I'm not." Emma glared harder at the figure standing before her.

"I even brought a gift." Rumpelstiltskin said, holding out the blanket.

"I don't want anything from you." Emma said angrily, refusing to take the blanket no matter how cold she was. She didn't want to owe anything to the devil before her.

"Just take it." Rumpelstiltskin laid the blanket down beside Emma on the small bed.

"Why are you here?" Emma asked, looking at the blanket next to her. "I guess you're not suddenly interested in my well-being, so why are you here?"

Rumpelstiltskin fake gasped as he put his hand on his chest, pretending to be offended by Emma's words. "I was just being nice, dearie."

Emma scoffed at Rumpelstiltskin's explanation. "And now the real reason, please?"

"Fine, dearie." Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes and poofed the two of them outside.

Emma was blinded by the sudden sunlight shining in her eyes. She covered her eyes with her hands because the harsh light was painful to her eyes that had only seen darkness for the past few days. "Why are we outside?"

Rumpelstiltskin poofed a young woman in front of him, immediately taking out her heart in the process. Emma gasped when she saw the heart in Rumpelstiltskin's hand. "What are you doing?"

Rumpelstiltskin took Emma's hand and placed the heart in it. Emma gave him a mortified look, trying to stay as still as possible so she wouldn't hurt the young woman.

"Squeeze it!" Rumpelstiltskin ordered. Emma shook her head in protest, closing her eyes so the tears wouldn't escape. "Do it!"

"No!" Emma yelled panicked.

Rumpelstiltskin placed his cold hand over Emma's and squeezed the heart. Emma's loud screams filled the forest. The lifeless body dropped on the floor, making Emma scream even louder. Emma collapsed on the floor, tears streaming out of her eyes. "How could you?"

"I need you to become dark, that's the only way I'll be able to use your magic." Rumpelstiltskin explained with a giggle.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Emma asked, the tears were slowly dripping from her cheeks and onto the wet ground of the forest.

Rumpelstiltskin just giggled and poofed them both back into the dungeon of his castle, leaving Emma behind in the cold, small room she had been staying in for the last couple of days.

__________♛__________

"Land in sight!" Killian yelled, happy to finally be closer to where Emma was.

It took the crew 2 hours to dock the ship and 5 hours before Killian arrived at the dark castle with a few of his best warriors. He had no idea what to do next, he didn't even know how he could sneak inside the castle so he could find Emma.

"What now, your majesty?" One of his warriors asked.

"Now, we find a way in." Killian answered smugly, leading the way as his warriors followed him.

__________♛__________

It was dark when they arrived inside the castle, they had found a small door in a wall and had picked the lock open. It was too easy in Killian's opinion so they were extra cautious in case Rumpelstiltskin would show up.

"Okay lads, let's find Emma." Killian whispered, the warriors all nodded their heads, keeping their sword ready in case it was needed.

They silently made their way in the massive hallways, trying to find out where they were. It seemed like they were downstairs, close to the cellars. Killian had a feeling Emma might be here. A cold wind was blowing from the few windows, making Killian shiver.

They bumped into a beautiful woman with brown hair holding a blanket in her arms. She let out a shriek at the sight of Killian and his warriors.

One of Killian's warriors was quick to grab the young woman, making her drop the blanket she was holding. She let out another shriek as she felt the cold sword on her neck.

"Tell us where Emma is!" Killian demanded. He wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible after finding Emma.

"I-I was going to bring her a blanket." The woman stuttered, the warrior pressed his sword tighter on her skin.

"Who are you, lass?" Killian asked, wondering why such a beautiful girl was spending her time at Rumpelstiltskin's castle.

"B-Belle, sir." Belle stuttered again, afraid from the sword that was still held tight against her throat. One wrong move and her life would be over.

"Why are you running around in a dungeon?" Killian asked, hoping Belle would be on their side.

"I'm Rumpelstiltskin's servant, sir." Belle explained softly, hating the fact that she was now living the life of a servant instead of the life as a princess.

"Bring us to Emma this instant!" Killian demanded, he needed Emma in his arms as quickly as possible and they were clearly wasting their time.

"A-alright." Belle stuttered, not liking Killian's harsh voice. The warrior lifted the sword from her throat and Belle's hands immediately flew to her throat to feel if she was bleeding.

Belle led the way towards the dungeon where Rumpelstiltskin held her captive.

Through the small opening in the door, they could see Emma sitting on the floor. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms were wrapped around her legs. She had laid her head down on her knees as she silently sobbed. She hated Rumpelstiltskin for making her kill someone. She still couldn't comprehend how she took a young woman's life.

"Emma?" Killian asked, he knew it was her. He immediately recognized her long, soft locks even though they were covered in dirt.

Emma looked up when she heard someone calling her name. She stood up as soon as she saw Killian's face and ran towards the door which held her in the small cell. "Killian?"

"It's me, love. I'm going to get you out of here." Killian promised, rubbing his thumb over Emma's cheek through the bars.

"Where is the key?" Killian asked Belle who looked up at Emma. She had wanted to free the young woman before Killian arrived but Rumpelstiltskin had hid the key away from her.

"I don't know. Honestly, I don't know." Belle said and panicked because she had no idea what those men would do with her. "I think it's locked with magic."

"Why do you think that, lass?" Killian asked, inspecting the lock one more time.

"The lock hasn't got a key hole. It's impossible to open it without the key Rumpelstiltskin has with him. It only opens if that specific key gets close to the lock." Belle explained.

"How can we get her out of here, then?" Killian said, he started to panic because they would never be able to take the key from Rumpelstiltskin.

"Emma." Belle said, getting an idea.

Killian watched Belle carefully, not quite understanding what she was up to. "What do you mean?"

Belle looked at Killian and smiled. She stepped closer to the cell where Emma was locked in. "Emma has magic. She's the only one who can get out of that cell."

Killian placed his hands through the bar. "Emma, love. You have to use your magic to get out."

"No." Emma simply said, there was no way she would use magic ever again. Who know what would happen if she tried to use it again?

"Why not, love? Don't you want to get out of here?" Killian asked confused, wondering why she wouldn't want to get out of Rumpelstiltskin's castle.

"Bad things will happen if I try to use it." Emma explained, placing her head on her knees again.

"I believe in you, love. Just try." Killian tried to persuade her, they were losing time and he was afraid Rumpelstiltskin would find out there were people inside his castle.

"I don't know how I can control it." Emma was getting scared, she knew she would have to use her magic eventually though.

"Follow your instincts, it will work out." Killian tried again. Emma looked up in Killian's direction. His hands were holding the bars in the small window. He gave her a smile and nodded at her.

Emma smiled back and stood up. She let out a shaky breath, shaking her arms. She stepped closer to the cell door and looked at Killian while she held her hands in front of her. Closing her eyes, she tried her best to conjure up her magic that was flowing in her veins. She pictured herself getting out of the cell. She frowned, feeling her hands glow. Opening her eyes slowly, she watched as white light was coming from her hands.

After only a few moments, the door disappeared and revealed Killian and Belle. Emma ran into Killian's open arms. "You found me."

"Of course, love. Come on, let's go home." Killian whispered into Emma's ear.


	12. I'd go to the end of the world for you

"Are you alright?" Killian asked worried, they were heading home on the Jolly Roger and Emma hadn't said a word to him. After their embrace, she became very distant towards him, locking herself up in the cabin that Killian gave to her so she could have some rest.

"Why?" Emma asked, not looking up to have a look at Killian. She kept staring at the ocean from the small window in her cabin, loving the way the ocean's waves hit the ship, parting for the large vessel that was in its way.

"What do you mean, love?" Killian asked, not knowing what Emma was talking about. He was so happy when they managed to free her, and it pained him that Emma was so distant.

"You and Milah." Emma said in barely a whisper, choking on the words.

Killian sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. "I don't know." He replied honestly. "I was drunk. I wasn't thinking, obviously."

Emma sighed but didn't reply.

Killian was still looking at Emma, still waiting for an answer. When she didn't talk at all, he decided to speak again. "Emma, please talk to me." He pleaded.

"I can't." Emma simply replied.

"Why not. We need to talk about this. I want to make it up to you." Killian pleaded, he knew what he did was wrong, and that whatever happened with Milah shouldn't have happened at all. He was angry at himself for hurting Emma like that. He wanted nothing more than to see her smile again, and he was going to do whatever it takes to make her happy again.

"Please, Killian. Just not right now." Emma pleading, slowly turning around so she wouldn't have to look at Killian anymore. She knew that if she looked to long into his pleading eyes, she would cave in and forgive her. She wanted to be mad at him, but it was difficult. She felt feelings for him she didn't even know could be felt. This whole experience was so new and thrilling, making her scared at the same time.

Killian slowly walked closer to Emma's side. He was so happy to have her back and he couldn't stand the silence anymore. He didn't like the disappointed look in Emma's eyes.

Emma felt his presence behind her and she closed her eyes. She was having a hard time to keep the tears at bay. She felt Killian's arm snake around her, slowly turning her around. Emma kept her eyes closed though, keeping her head facing the ground.

Killian placed his fingers on Emma's chin, slowly lifting her head up. "Please open your eyes, love."

Emma shook her head no, knowing she wouldn't be able to stay mad at him once she looked into his eyes.

"Please, love." Killian pleaded. Emma slowly opened her eyes and watched the sadness in Killian's eyes. It was that moment that she couldn't contain the tears anymore. She cried for Killian and she cried for herself. She cried because she was kidnapped and for the woman Rumpelstiltskin made her kill. Killian held her close to him as Emma hid her face in the crook of Killian's neck.

"Everything will be alright, love." Killian whispered soothingly, rubbing small circles on her back. He let Emma cry out all her tears, knowing that crying was what she needed.

"Sorry." Emma apologized after a while, feeling bad for drenching Killian's shirt as she whipped the tears from her cheeks.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, love. It is me who has to apologize. I have hurt you so much without even realizing it. I've made a huge mistake, but please, Emma, let me make it up to you." Killian said, hoping Emma would forgive him, even if it took some time.

"I just... It's just..." Emma couldn't find the words to explain how she was feeling.

Killian cut Emma off by placing his lips on hers, giving her a small kiss. Emma leaned into the kiss, not able to resist Killian's charms anymore.

When they parted, Killian's hand brushed the lone tear that fell from Emma's eye away from her cheek, giving her a soft smile as he leaned back to give her yet another kiss.

"I'm so glad I found you again, love." Killian said in all honesty.

"Me too, Killian. I wouldn't have been able to escape without you." Emma said, she was happy she was finally out of that small and dirty cell, being safe in Killian's arms once again.

"I'd go to the end of the world for you, love." Killian declared, hugging Emma close to his chest as they watched the ocean before them.

__________♛__________

"You found her!" The blue fairy said happily as Killian and Emma boarded off the Jolly Roger.

"Yes, we did." Killian said, gazing lovely into Emma's eyes. After their kiss, Killian and Emma had spent a lot of time together on board of the Jolly Roger. Emma blushed slightly at the look Killian was giving her.

"I don't know how I could have missed it before." The blue fairy said as she looked closely at Emma's face once more.

"Missed what before?" Emma asked in confusion, having no idea what was going on inside the fairy's head.

"They will be so glad to see you, child." The blue fairy said happily,

"What do you mean? Who are you talking about?" Emma asked, not liking the way she was being kept in the dark.

"Your parents, dear child." The blue fairy explained excited. She didn't notice the shock on Emma's face as she was too excited to notice anything else.

"My ... parents?" Emma asked, not understanding what was happening.

"Yes, dear. I have to let them know immediately." The blue fairy gushed excited, leaving Emma behind in a puff of blue smoke.

"What did just happen?" Emma asked Killian confused, not really registering what the blue fairy had told her.

"I have no idea, love." Killian said confused as well, staring at the place where the blue fairy was not long before.

"Let's just get back to the castle. I can't wait to see Ruby again." Emma said, holding Killian's hand in her as they tracked the short walk from the docks towards the castle.


	13. Meeting the parents - part 1

"Emma! I can't believe you're here. I missed you so much!" Ruby said as she hugged Emma tight. She was so happy Emma came home safely.

"I really missed you as well." Emma said, trying to keep the tears at bay as she hugged Ruby even closer to her. It was crazy how much she missed them, they were like her family; family she never had. Living in all the foster homes were hard, she never felt loved in those foster families. All they cared about was getting a paycheck every month and having a free live-in caretaker of their house. She shuddered, hating the bad memories she had of her childhood.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked when she felt Emma's shudder.

Emma shook her head softly and shrugged. "Nothing." She answered with a fake smile. "Just memories."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ruby asked again, she was really worried. Killian had already filled her in on what happened at the dark castle and from what she understood, the past few days were really hard for Emma. No wonder she looked so tired and unhappy.

"I'm fine, Ruby. Really." Emma tried to reassure her. The memories kept haunting her though. Memories from her past, memories from her time in the tiny cell, and the worse of them all – killing an innocent woman. It wasn't her fault, Rumpelstiltskin made her do it, but she still had a hard time. She kept worrying, it was one of the most terrifying moments of her life – watching the life drain out of a stranger, someone she didn't know and probably has done nothing wrong in her life.

Milah watched Emma getting hugged by everyone as she stood in the shadows. She didn't understand how everyone liked her so much, in her eyes she was just an attention-seeking whore; stealing away what was hers.

She walked closer to Emma, who was still deep in thought, with a fake smile on her face and an evil glint in her eyes. "Emma! I'm so happy you are back."

Emma looked up at Milah with a curious expression on her face. "Oh." She said as Milah pulled her into a tight hug as well, not understanding why Milah was suddenly so nice to her. It was obvious that Milah hated her for some reason.

Milah smiled at Emma again, making even Killian wonder what her motives are.

"Come on, love. Let's get you to your room." Killian said, taking Emma's soft hand in his so he could lead her away from Milah.

"Thank you." Emma said with a soft smile when Milah was no longer in sight. Milah was something else, and they both knew she must have something planned.

"Do you want to talk about what happened earlier?" Killian asked softly as Emma sat down on her bed. Emma softly touched the silk sheets, loving the feeling on her fingertips. She was only in that cell for a few days but she really missed sleeping in the soft bed which was hers now. She really was grateful for Killian's decision on keeping her here, in his castle.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked innocently, not meeting Killian's gaze. She kept staring at her hands that were brushing the soft material she was sitting on.

"When you were with Ruby earlier. You had a distant look on your face and it seemed like something was troubling you. Maybe you might want to talk about it?" Killian said, stepping closer to Emma until he kneeled down between her slightly parted legs.

"It's nothing." Emma said with a fake smile.

"I can see that you're lying, love." Killian said, looking into Emma's eyes.

"You're right." Emma sighed, her shoulder slumping. "I was thinking about my childhood. Just being back here, after spending a horrible time with Rumpelstiltskin, made me grateful of having you and Ruby. I've been alone all my life; never been loved. The families taking me in as a child only used me to get their paycheck. I had to take care of the younger children, I had to cook and clean while trying to keep my grades up at school so that I could apply for a great college with a scholarship. I had to bear through the abuse, I had to grow up so fast."

Emma didn't realize she was crying until Killian swiped away some of her tears with his thumb. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry."

"It's alright, love. I didn't realize how hard your life was. I'm sorry for pushing you to tell me about your past." Killian said in guilt, he made her cry and he never wanted to see those tears leaking on her beautiful cheeks again. He made a promise to himself to make her happy, to make that gorgeous smile appear more often on her face.

"I'm glad I told you." Emma said in relief. She never told anyone about her life, too ashamed of what had happened to her. She was ashamed of the fact that her parents abandoned her at the side of the road, ashamed that she never fought back when she got hit by her foster parents, ashamed that she cleaned and cooked for the people who were supposed to take care of her. And the worst of all, she felt ashamed for killing a stranger with her bare hands.

"Come on, love. Let's get you cleaned up." Killian stood up and offered his hand to Emma who took it without a second thought. He led her towards the bathroom that was attached to her bedroom and left her alone so she could get ready for dinner in peace.

__________♛__________

 

Ruby, Killian and Emma were eating in the dining room when the blue fairy suddenly appeared in front of them. Emma was starving and was happy she only had Killian's and Ruby's company so she could stuff her mouth full of the delicious foods the cook had prepared for them. She really missed eating the really luxurious dining room. The room really was made for royalty. Three beautiful chandeliers hung from the ceiling, giving the room a romantic feeling. The large windows gave them a beautiful view of the gardens outside. The long table could fit a large amount of guests. It was obvious that this room was often used to host parties in. She was glad it was just the three of them though as she didn't enjoy being in large crowds.

"I found them!" She said in excitement as Emma gave her a confused look. "Your parents, sweetie!"

Emma coughed, choking on the air she just inhaled. "M-my parents?" She asked confused. "They are in this land? How? I don't understand."

Killian took a hold of Emma's hand. He could see she started to panic so he wanted to sooth her. "Calm down, love."

"I just don't understand." Emma repeated, really confused about the fact that her parents are not in the real world where she had lived for most of her life.

The blue fairy stared at Emma, feeling slightly guilty for interrupting Emma's peace after being rescued not so long before.

"It's not my place to explain what happened in the past. I promise you will get the story from them. But Emma, they are really happy you were able to make your way back to them. They are on their way now. It won't take them much longer to arrive." The fairy looked down, offering Emma a small, reassuring smile.

"Who are they?" Killian asked, hating to see Emma this upset. He went over to her and gave her hand a light, reassuring squeeze.

"They will arrive soon, I really can't tell more about this." The blue fairy said once again before she opened her wings again and flew away.

"Why did she leave?" Emma asked nervously, looking around to see if the blue fairy was hiding somewhere else.

"Emma?" A voice called from behind her, making Emma abandon her search for the blue fairy and turn around slowly.


	14. Meeting the parents - part 2

"Emma?" A voice called from behind her, making Emma abandon her search for the blue fairy and turn around slowly. 

"Yes?" Emma asked, her breath hitching as she saw two people standing in front of her. They looked familiar somehow, in a way she couldn't explain.

"I can't believe it's really you." The stranger said relieved, coming closer to Emma so he could pull her into a tight hug. 

"Oh." Emma said uncomfortably, patting the man's back with a frown on her face. 

Moments later, a beautiful black-haired woman entered the room. She ran towards her husband and her long lost daughter to join the hug. "Emma!"   
After releasing their daughter from their tight hug, both Snow White and Prince Charming looked at their daughter's features, saving a mental image in their minds. 

"You look so beautiful." Snow said, breaking the silence. She was trying her best to keep her tears at bay but she didn't succeed. A few tears escaped her eyes and made their journey over her cheeks. 

"We have been waiting for this moment for a very long time." Charming said, holding his wife close to his side as they stared at their daughter, not believing their eyes. "We knew you would find a way to come back to us." 

Just when Emma was about to answer, a young boy came running inside, followed by an older woman dressed in what looked to be a maid's outfit. The older woman was trying to get a hold of the young boy, but the boy moved too quickly for the woman to follow. Just as she was about to grab a hold of him, the boy rushed to the other side, towards his parents. 

"I'm sorry, your highness. He just ran off." The maid bowed for her king and queen. 

"It's alright, Johanna." Queen Snow said with a small smile, gesturing to her son to come closer. "Emma, meet your brother, Prince Neal." 

"Emma!" Neal rushed to his sister's side, he had heard stories about her before and he was excited to finally meet her. He had heard stories about the savior who would defeat the Evil Queen with her magic; a bedtime story Joanna used to tell him almost every night.

"I need some time alone." Emma stated, turning her back to her newfound parents and rushing out the doors. Her feet carried her quickly to the gardens, a place where she usually felt at peace. She sat down on one of the benches near the willow tree and sighed. Seeing her parents was emotional, but finding out they had replaced her was tough on her. All her life she had no one who cared for her; she was easily disposable when a foster family decided they no longer needed her. She had the same feeling with her parents. 

She heard footsteps behind her so she quickly wiped away the tears that had fallen on her cheeks. She felt Killian's presence close to her so she slowly turned around to face him.  
"Are you alright, love?" Killian asked concerned, quickly making his way towards Emma and kneeling in front of her. 

"Yes, everything is fine." Emma lied with a tight smile.

Her eyes gave her away though. "I can see it in your eyes that you are lying, love." He could read her like an open book, her eyes held no secrets anymore. 

"I just - " Emma paused with a sigh, not really knowing how she could explain this to Killian. 

"You feel replaced." Killian stated, knowing how Emma must be feeling right now. He saw the look on her face when her parents came into the room. Relief, confusion, even happiness. As soon as her brother ran into the room as well, the look on her face changed into sadness. He saw a look he only saw in orphan's eyes. The look of loneliness.

"I know I shouldn't be mad at them for moving on, but I do." Emma said, disappointed in herself. She felt selfish for being angry at the people who called themselves their parents.

"You can feel whatever you want, love. No one is stopping you from feeling your emotions. It won't be healthy if you keep it inside." Killian said, softly taking Emma's hands in his and rubbing his thumb over her knuckles, instantly calming her down.

After a few moments, Emma took another deep breath before standing up on her feet again. Killian followed her movements, instantly standing on his feet as well, his hand never left hers. "I'm ready to go back inside again." Emma mentioned, looking over at the large palace she now called her home. Killian nodded and led her back inside, to the place where her parents were still patiently waiting for their daughter's return. As soon as the door opened, Queen Snow White and Prince Charming immediately looked up and locked eyes with Emma. Their eyes lit up at the sight of their daughter walking into the room again, towards them.

“We have missed you so much, my sweet Emma.” Snow said, gazing lovingly at her daughter with tears in her eyes. She had dreamt of this moment for 17 years, making images in her head about her lost daughter. Nothing prepared her to see this beautiful, young woman standing in front of her, though.

“Why did you leave me behind?” Emma asked with a cracked voice and tears filling her eyes. She needed to know why they didn’t want her, why she had to endure such a hard life. 

“We were heartbroken when we had to let you go through the portal, we regret our decision every day. But you were prophesied to be the savior, you were destined to defeat the Evil Queen during the final battle. Regina didn’t pull through with her curse and our sacrifice was made for nothing. We were able to banish her to a far-away land and she hasn’t been seen after that.” Prince Charming said sadly, the regret of leaving his firstborn child behind was clear in his eyes. 

“Why couldn’t you find another way to defeat the Evil Queen, without giving me up?” Emma said, pointing to herself to make her point more clear. She was hurt that her own parents were able to get rid of her without a second thought, she was replaceable as well, seeing as they got another child already. She knew it was bad to be jealous of her younger brother but she just wanted what he had – a childhood with her parents instead of being shipped away by foster parents whenever they didn’t want you anymore. She hated being replaceable, not being loved, being scared about making friends; knowing she would have to leave them behind eventually. 

“Rumpelstiltskin told us that the only way to defeat her was by sending you through the portal before the curse hit. The curse was supposed to bring us to another world and we would have no memories of our old life.” Snow White explained, wishing she didn’t listen to Rumpelstiltskin in the first place so she wouldn’t have found out about her daughter being the savior to break the terrible curse. 

“Rumpelstiltskin?” Emma said with fear in her eyes. The flashbacks from being kidnapped by Rumpelstiltskin made their way towards her mind. Hurt flashed across her eyes as she remembered how she killed that innocent stranger. She shook her head to clear her head from the memories, focusing back on her parents. 

“Yes, we banished him as well. He is an evil sorcerer and there is no place for magical people in our kingdom.” Charming said in a stern tone, Emma looked over at Killian with worried eyes. He silently shook his head, letting her know it won’t be a good idea to tell her newfound parents that she, the savior, possessed magic as well. 

“Let’s eat dessert.” Killian said with a smile, changing the subject as he guided his guests towards the table filled with the delicious desserts prepared by the chefs.   
Emma gave him a grateful smile as they walked towards the table side by side. Before sitting down in his chair, Killian quickly winked at Emma. 

As they ate, Emma’s parents were firing questions at her, wanting to know everything about their long-lost daughter. Emma answered every question with a polite smile, still feeling confused about her feelings.


	15. Forrest talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter sucks so hard... I wrote this at school lmao. I had 4 hours before my first class started so I decided to write. And, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!! I am now 21 years old and I feel old :') 
> 
> I'm so in love with my cake! It's an ice-cream cakee with a picture of me and Colin and me and my cat :) 
> 
> Kuddos and comments motivate me :)

When Emma woke up the next morning, yawing from the lack of sleep and stretching out in her soft bed, she remembered how she had met her parents the day before. She was still shocked that after almost 18 years, she was finally able to meet her parents. She had dreamed in foster care of the moment her parents would find her, rescuing her from the bad memories of the foster system. But they were too late, she was already saved; by the portal that brought her here - with Killian and Ruby.

She was still shocked about finding out that she has a younger brother now, a real one; not one that came with the package at the foster home.

She smiled as she remembered Killian, helping her deal with her emotions. It was hard. She never would have believed it if somebody would tell her that meeting her parents would be that hard, that it wouldn't be rainbows and sunshine. She still felt left out and couldn't believe how her parents tossed her away at the mention of the curse. If they didn't, she would have had her family with her during her childhood. She would have learned how to act like the princess she is, the heir to the throne.

Emma quickly ate her breakfast, got dressed into the navy blue dress that one of the servants had laid out for her and went to search for Killian. She still wanted to thank him properly after yesterday's events. She knew she could always count on him.

"Have you seen Killian?" Emma asked Ruby who was eating her breakfast in the patio instead of the dining room or her bedroom.

"I think he went to the stables, but I'm not entirely sure about it." Ruby replied, stuffing another pastry into her mouth.

"Thank you, Ruby!" Emma yelled before quickly making her way to the stables. She halted her steps when she found Killian, petting his horse and whispering to him softly.

"I think she is the one." She could faintly hear what Killian was saying to his horse. She slowly made her way to Killian, not wanting to scare him and the horse.

"Hi." Emma said softly, putting her hand on Killian shoulder. She smiled as Killian turned around and gave her a dashing smile.

"There you are, Swan. Do you fancy a ride together?" Killian asked amused, hoping she would agree on it so they could spend more time together.

"Yeah, sure. I would love to join you." Emma replied, happy to be able to ride Buttercup again. Killian asked a stable boy to help her saddle up. Emma petted Buttercup, who seemed excited about the prospect of going for a ride. The stables were quite big but the horses still loved to go on rides, or even some time in the meadow kept them happy.

Buttercup neighed loudly, making Emma chuckle in return. "Almost ready, Buttercup." She had asked a stable boy to teach her how to saddle up so she could go out on a ride whenever she pleased. Killian had already brushed his horse down so he only needed to put the saddle on the horse's back and put the bridle in. When he was done, he waited patiently for Emma so he could help her on her horse as well. He watched carefully as Emma treated Buttercup with respect, gently stroking her coat. Five minutes later, Emma was done as well.

"Are you ready?" Killian asked, gently nudging his horse into a slow walk. Emma nodded and pushed her thighs gently against Buttercup so they could begin their journey.

"Thank you, again, for yesterday." Emma said, breaking the silence. The castle laid far behind them as they walked in the forest, their horses close to each other.

"Anything for you, love." Emma blushed at Killian's words but remained quiet. Soon enough, they stopped at a river, both stepping off their horses and tying them to a near-by tree after letting them drink the water from the river.

"It's so beautiful here." Emma said, looking around the forest. The trees stood tall, the flowers were blooming and the animals were looking for food, jumping from tree to tree or flying around peacefully.

"Not as beautiful as you are." Killian said, looking into Emma's eyes. Emma blushed at Killian's words, not being able to maintain eye contact as she smiled. Killian placed his thumb under Emma's chin so he could tilt her head up slightly. Looking into her eyes, he slowly leaned in, giving Emma the time to back away if she wanted.

Still blushing, Emma placed her arms around Killian's neck so she could place her lips on his in a fiery kiss. Killian, slightly surprised with Emma's sudden confidence, returned the kiss. He slowly backed them up into a near-by tree. Their kiss became more intense, from the soft pressing of their lips into a battle of dominance, their tongues tangled together; a tango both of them danced together. When the need to breath kicked in, Killian rested his forehead against Emma's. They both kept their eyes closed as they tried to catch their breath.

Emma's stomach broke the silence as it made the need for some food known. Emma blushed slightly, embarrassed by the sounds her stomach was making in front of Killian.

Killian saw the embarrassment in her eyes and brushed his thumb over her lips and cheek. "There is no need to be embarrassed, love. There's only me and you out here." Emma nodded and smiled, leaning into Killian's touch.

"Come on, love. It's getting late and we both missed lunch already. Let's get back before it gets dark so we can put some food into our stomachs." Killian said, taking Emma's hand in his so he could lead them back to where the horses were munching on some grass.

They both quickly saddled back up, galloping back to the palace. As the castle came into view, Buttercup spooked as a snake made its way before her hooves. She lost her footing and tripped over a log. Emma flew off her back and landed on her head, knocking her out cold from the impact.

"Emma!" Killian yelled, he heard Emma's scream as she fell down. He halted his horse and quickly ran towards Emma. Buttercup was standing up, showing no signs of an injury. She was still a bit spooked, nudging Emma's leg with her nose. "Come on, love. Wake up."

Seeing that she wasn't waking up, Killian carefully lifted her up and got back onto his horse, holding Emma into his arms, making sure not to hurt her. He nudged his horse into a fast canter, Buttercup following them without hesitation.

When they arrived back at the palace, Killian shouted for the royal doctor. Servants rushed out when they heard the king screaming for help. They gasped as they saw the unconscious woman in his arms.

Victor rushed to the court yard as well, holding his medical bag in his hand as he made his way towards the king and the princess. "What happened?" He asked, inspecting Emma's body.

"Buttercup spooked and Emma lost her balance. She got tossed from her back and landed in the dirt. I think she hit her head pretty hard." Killian told him, making space so Victor could help Emma.

"Let's get her inside." Victor said, the servants were looking as the scene unfolded and Victor wanted some privacy to inspect the injury.

Killian quickly held Emma in his arms again and rushed them to his room. He gently placed her down on his bed, sitting down beside her still body.

Victor took a closer look to Emma's head and saw some blood in the blondes' hair. "She has a head wound. It doesn't look too severe but the impact made her loose unconsciousness." Victor explained. He cleaned out Emma's wound and placed a bandage around her head, making sure it wouldn't get infected.

"When will she wake up?" Killian asked nervously, wondering why she hadn't woken up already if the wound wasn't that severe.

"I can't tell you that. Her own body will decide when it's time to wake up again." Victor explained, taking one last look at Emma before making his way towards the bedroom door.

"Do I need a servant to get you when she wakes up?" Killian asked, following the doctor out.

"No need, she will be just fine. Just make sure she gets some rest and gets something to eat. The wound will hurt, and she will have a headache as well but she should be fine. Call me if you are worried though or when something is wrong. Have a good night." The doctor said, by now, the sun had already set. He got a servant to get Emma's parents in, not wanting to keep this from her parents.

Not even 10 minutes later, Emma's parents knocked on the door, not even waiting for Killian's reply as they burst through the bedroom door.

"Is she okay?" Queen Snow White asked, looking at her unconscious daughter laying still in the large bed. She looked over at her husband with sadness.

"How did this happen?" The prince demanded, a hint of anger in his tone.

Killian scratched the back of his neck, a clear sign that he was nervous as her parents confronted him about what happened in the forest. "Emma and I were going on a ride, on our way back, however, Buttercup - that's Emma's horse - spooked and tripped. Emma lost her balance and got tossed of her back. Before I knew it, Emma lay still on the ground, not moving at all. I made my way towards the palace as fast as I could and immediately called for Victor."

"When will she wake up?" Queen Snow asked, tears in her eyes as she looked at her daughter again.

"Victor couldn't say when she would wake up." Killian said, looking over at Emma as well.

"Can you let us know when she wakes up?" David asked, kissing his daughter's forehead.

"Sure, I'll call you up as soon as she's awake." Killian promised. Prince David and Queen Snow left the room after that, knowing it would make Emma uncomfortable having so many people in the room when she wakes up.

\-----

"It worked, daddy." Milah said, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"I'm proud of you, Milah. You will be a great queen one day."


	16. Traitor

"Has she woken up yet?" Ruby asked when she brought Killian his dinner. It had been two days since the accident and Killian hadn't left his room at all, afraid he wouldn't be there when Emma woke up.

"Not yet. Can you get Victor again? I know he said everything would be fine but it has been two days and I'm really worried about her." Killian said to his sister. He wanted Emma awake as quickly as possible, he wanted to see that sparkle back in her eyes, the beautiful smile back on her face. Killian softly stroked Emma's face with his thumb as he thought about this.

"Yes, I can do that. Just eat your dinner and I'll get the doctor in the meantime." Ruby rushed out of the room, in search for Victor.

It didn't take long before Victor came into the large bedroom, carrying his bag with him.

"She still hasn't woken up?" Victor asked, getting to Emma's side.

"Not yet. If it's just a head wound, why hasn't she woken up yet? You said it wasn't even severe." Killian couldn't figure out why it was taking so long for Emma to wake up.

"It doesn't make sense. She should have woken up a few hours at most after being unconscious." Victor examined Emma again, checking her head wound a second time but seeing that it was healing nicely. "There is no infection on the head wound, so that's not what's causing this."

After inspecting Emma for another 20 minutes, Victor wasn't able to find anything physically wrong with her. "I'm going to do some research. I'll get to the bottom of this. You just get some rest, alright?"

With that, Victor left the room in a hurry and went to his study, laying out his books in front of him as he went in search for a cure.

__________♛__________

Killian kissed Emma's hand after laying down the book he was reading to her on the night stand. He hoped that she could hear his voice when he was reading to her. He chose a book about romance and adventure, knowing she would have loved the story about a pirate falling in love with a princess. It was Ruby's favorite book and it was her suggestion he read it out loud for Emma to enjoy as well.

"Good night, Emma. Please wake up." He kissed the top of her head before blowing out all the candles in the room and taking his place on the small couch next to the bed.

It was the middle of the night when a noise woke him up. He looked up and rubbed his eyes, seeing the blurry sight of a woman in front of him. It took his eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness, the moonlight helping him to get a bearing of his surroundings.

He saw a woman standing over Emma's sleeping form, holding something against her nose. Frowning, he silently made his way around the bed. It seemed that the woman hadn't noticed him yet as he creeped up on her.

When he was close enough he took her hands in his large ones, turning her around so he could see the face of the woman who was standing over Emma.

"Milah?" Killian asked in shock.

Milah quickly hid her hands behind her back, hoping Killian wouldn't have noticed the powder still in her hands.  
She wasn't fast enough though. Killian grabbed her arms roughly, making Milah yelp in surprise by his sudden roughness. He had always been kind to her and seeing this side of him made Milah scared for what was to happen.

"You are hurting me!" Milah spat out, trying to get her arm out of Killian's iron grip.

"Why?" Killian angrily asked, shaking Milah roughly when she refused to answer his question.

Milah looked away - staring longingly at the door, trying to plan an escape route. Killian followed her stare and gripped her arms even tighter as he realized she was planning to escape.

He led her roughly towards the door, grabbing the attention from a near-by guard.

"Take her to the dungeons, make sure she is being watched the whole time." Killian said to the guard who nodded quickly and replaced Killian's grip with his own.

With Milah out of the way, he returned back to Emma's side. He called upon Victor again, who came rushing into the room 10 minutes later, still dressed in his pajamas.

"Do you still have some of the powder Milah used on Emma?" He asked, setting his case down on the end of the bed, close to Emma's feet.

"She dropped some of the contents." Killian pointed to the spot on the floor where he had surprised Milah, pointing to the small patch of powder that must have slipped from Milah's pouch.

Victor carefully scooped the powder up, using gloves to make sure it won't make any contact with his skin.

"What is it?" Killian asked, getting closer to the doctor as he watched the white powder disappear from his hands.

"Magic." Victor stated, "Make sure you get this cleaned up and make sure you don't touch it. Other than that, now that Emma won't get in contact with the powder anymore, I'm sure the effects will wear off in time. We just have to wait."

"I will inform her parents in the morning. And I'll have to deal with Milah too." Killian sighed, not looking forward to dealing with everything. But as the King, he had to do what had to be done.

Victor patted Killian on the back and made his way towards his own bedroom again, going back to sleep.

Killian paced around his room, unable to go back to his slumber. He wanted to be awake when Emma opened her eyes again and he needed to think of a punishment. Taking Milah's head wasn't an option, with her being the princess of a nearby kingdom it would surely cause war, one he didn't want and didn't need. Killian sighed and sat down on the chair near his bed, carefully watching Emma's sleeping form.

__________♛__________

The sun slowly started to rise, the palace was buzzing with activity once again as the maids started cleaning the palace and the cooks prepared breakfast for the royal family and their guests. Ruby knocked on Killian's bedroom door, opening the door softly.

"Are you okay?" She asked her brother, placing her hand on Killian's shoulder.

Killian looked up from Emma's still sleeping form, placing his hand on top of Ruby's, squeezing it softly. "I'm fine. It's Emma I'm worried about right now. Who knows what that powder did to her."

"She will be fine. She's strong, her body can handle this." Ruby said, looking over at her best friend.

Another knock on the door interrupted their conversation. The door opened and revealed Emma's parents who worriedly took their seat beside their daughter.

"Victor told us what happened." Snow White said, running her fingers through her daughter's tangled hair.

"Why don't we leave the three of you alone? I'm sure Killian will appreciate the fresh air." Ruby said, pulling a protesting Killian along with her.

David sat beside his wife on the bed, placing a kiss on Emma's cold hand.

"I hope she wakes up soon." David said, gazing at Emma. As soon as the words left his mouth, the room started to shake. David and Snow White looked at each other in horror as the papers flew around the room.

Emma's hands were shimmering from the white light. The wind picked up inside the room as Emma's magic became stronger.

"Do you have the bracelet?" David asked his wife, placing his body over Snow's to protect her from the falling items.

Snow White felt around in her pockets and retrieved the silver bracelet. "I always carry it around with me in case Regina decides to show up."

She hurriedly placed the bracelet around Emma's hands and the magic white light covering Emma's hands disappeared.

"She has magic." Snow White stated in disgust.

"We will find a way to get rid of it." David promised. "We need to go back to our kingdom and deal with this."

Snow White nodded in agreement. "I will get Johanna to get Neal ready as quickly as possible. Hide Emma in a carriage and let the driver know to get the horses ready. We will leave as soon as everyone is ready to go"

David picked up his still sleeping daughter and quickly made his way towards the stables. Luckily, no maids or guards noticed him as he left the palace. He placed Emma inside their royal carriage, locking the door behind him.

"Get the horses ready. We are leaving as soon as we can." David ordered their royal driver. The driver bowed his head, acknowledging the order and went back to his two horses to get them ready for the long journey back to their kingdom.


	17. The bracelet

She woke up with a start, her head pounding. She rubbed her forehead as the pain grew more intense by the second. It took her a few more moments to realize she wasn't laying in her bed at Killian's castle. Instead, she was laying down on an uncomfortable couch in a carriage, the horse's hooves making loud noises, breaking the silence around her.

She glanced up and saw her parents and her little brother sleeping peacefully on the opposite side of her in the large carriage.

Her wrist held an unknown weight. Emma looked curiously at the silver bracelet that was tightly wrapped around her wrist. She didn't remember putting it on, nor did she remember anything else after the accident. When she was asleep, she could hear Killian's voice though, but she couldn't move her heavy limbs, nor reply to Killian's monologues. She tried and tried but something was holding her back, a barrier that made her body unresponsive to her mind's will.

As the fog in her head slowly subdued, she realized Killian wasn't with her. She was suddenly wide awake as she felt that something wasn't right. She opened the curtain hanging in front of the small window that was trying to keep the sun out as they moved through a forest she didn't recognize.

Emma frowned and moved her gaze back to the bracelet that was now hanging on her wrist. It felt too tight, almost breaking off the blood circulation, leaving an uncomfortable feeling in its wake. She tried to find the clasp of the bracelet, twisting it around wrist painfully. She couldn't find a clasp on it, not even a hidden one. She tried to take it off, trying to slide the silver jewelry off her wrist. This time, the bracelet didn't bulge. It didn't matter how hard she tried to slide the silver pendant over her wrist, it just wouldn't move. Then she remembered her magic. She focused and wished she had more practice but tried anyway. After a few moments, she could feel the tingly sensation of her magic flowing through her veins before it shocked her. It felt as though she was being hit by lightning.

She gasped in pain as the stinging slowly left her body. The silver glowed, making Emma realize it was the bracelet that made her own magic turn against her.

"Emma, you're awake." Emma removed her gaze from the bracelet towards her mother's voice. Snow White looked relieved to see her daughter finally awake.

"Why are we traveling?" Emma asked, her voice raspy from the lack of water the past few days. Her throat hurt and she felt weak.

"We wanted to keep you safe." Snow White replied, looking at the silver bracelet wrapped tightly around Emma's wrist. Emma shifted her gaze towards the bracelet again, not noticing the look of satisfaction in her mother's eyes.

"Keep me safe from what?" Emma asked, not understanding why her parents took her away from Killian. As far as she knew, Killian's palace was the safest place she could be at.

"Yourself." Snow White simply replied, opening the curtains of the large carriage to let the sunlight in. Emma looked at her confused, not understanding what her mother meant with that statement. As soon as the curtains were drawn and the sunlight lit up the whole carriage, David woke up as well, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out.

"You're awake." He said happily when he opened his eyes and saw his daughter sitting up.

"I really don't understand what's happening." Emma said, ignoring her father's happiness as the confusion still hung around her head. "Why don't we just go back to Killian, I'm sure he'd love to know that I'm awake."

"I'm sorry, darling, but we can't do that." Snow White replied.

"I don't know why I need to be kept safe. And from myself? There is nothing wrong with me!" Emma was becoming more furious by the second. She couldn't believe her parents were capable of doing this. First, they made her live her childhood all by herself, having no one who loved her. And now – almost 18 years later they were suddenly the protecting parents? She was almost an adult, she didn't want nor need their protection. She became weary of her parents as they stared at her. She wanted to be back with Killian, kissing him senseless until they both had to gasp for air. She closed her eyes and willed her magic to take her back to Killian, knowing it would a long shot that her magic would actually work this time.

As the tingles were being replaced with the stinging pain, she knew her magic failed once again. As she opened her eyes she saw David being worried for his daughter's safety as a gasp left her body when the pain finally subdued. When she looked over at her mother though, she could see her smug expression. She looked at her in confusion, was it her that placed the block on her magic?

"It worked." Snow White said to herself in a whisper but Emma heard the words either way.

Emma looked up to her mother again, the anger in her eyes was hard to miss. "You did this to me?!"

Neal woke up with a start after Emma shouted out the question. His eyes twinkled as he noticed that his sister was awake. He quickly slid of his seat and took small and quick steps across the carriage to give his big sister a hug. Emma hesitantly hugged the small boy back. It wasn't long until Snow White stepped in, taking her son roughly from Emma's embrace.

"You will be able to spend time with him once your magic is gone." Snow White said disgusted, keeping her son in place on her lap.

"Why do you want my magic gone?" Emma asked, keeping her eyes focused on the floor of their carriage that was still bumping on some rocks and branches. She tried to wrap her mind around the fact that her parents, or at least her mother, were disgusted with her, not understanding what her magic had to do with all of this. As far as she knew, she could help people with her magic, once she learned to control it, that is. She now realized it would only be a matter of time until that part of her would be gone, all because of her parents.

"It's evil." Snow White stated simply, not even trying to conceal the hatred in her eyes.

"No, you don't understand, I can –" Emma tried to explain, she hoped they could get this bracelet off of her wrist, so she could try and transport back to Killian's arms where she felt safe.

"Enough!" Snow White's loud voice echoed through the carriage, the birds in the forest fleeting away in fear. "We're nearly home."

It was only 15 minutes later that the scenery of the peaceful forest was replaced by a small village. People were talking to each other, merchants were trying to sell of their goods and children were playing around with some dogs.

The path to the palace was clear now, no more bumps in the road made the ride go smoothly. The Charmings' palace came into view, it was a beautiful castle with lots of high windows and beautiful colors. It couldn't compare to Killian's palace though, seeing that his was more luxurious and held good memories for Emma.

The horses quickly came to a halt and the footman rushed to the carriage doors to open them for the royal family. He helped Snow White and her son out first, Neal had fallen asleep again and was clutching his mother's dress tightly with his small hands. Once Emma was out of the small space, she quickly looked around for an escape route. Her parents didn't give her a lot of time to look over the courtyard as two guards were quickly by her side, each one holding one of her arms.

"Let me go!" Emma said angrily but their grip tightened even more around her.

Snow White stooped walking and turned around to face her daughter once again. "I ordered them to get you inside. Don't bother to try to escape, those guards won't leave your side until your magic is finally gone."

Emma stopped struggling, knowing it would be no use. Without her magic, she didn't have the power to take those two guards physically. They finally arrived in the large throne room, she swore she would have the guards' hands imprinted in her skin, already feeling bruises coming up.

Once everyone was in the throne room, Snow White said the words that would shake up Emma's world.

"Emma, dear, come meet your fiancé."


	18. Sweet escape

“Emma, dear, come meet your fiancé.”

Emma’s eyes bulged open. “Fiancé?” She asked shocked. She was confused, but mostly just angry. She didn’t understand how her parents could turn on her so quickly, shouldn’t they be happy to see her again after almost 18 years of being apart?

“Welcome home.” Emma’s ‘fiancé’ said with a sly grin on his face. Emma didn’t trust him one bit but shook his offered hand so she wouldn’t make her parents more angry – especially her mother. She needed to try and convince her parents to get her out of this marriage. Wasn’t this illegal anyway?

As soon as her fiancé moved away again, yes she still didn’t even know his name, she tried to find her parents. Finding them across the other side of the large room, she quickly rushed towards them. “Please, don’t make me do this. I don’t even know him!”

“Silence!” Her mother shouted angrily. “You can’t back out of this. It’s the only way.” Emma’s father looked at her with sad eyes, he seemed not to be keen on this idea as well.

“Only way for what? If you ever loved me, then you need to let me go, don’t make me get married!” Emma tried to convince her mother, but as expected, it didn’t work.

“We are doing this because we love you.” Snow White said, placing her hands on her daughter’s cheeks. Afterwards she left the throne room with her husband, her son was already taken to his room by one of the maids.

Emma was left alone with her soon-to-be husband and quietly made her way towards him. If she couldn’t convince her parents, she might be able to convince him.

“Hi, again.” Her fiancé told her, taking her hand and placing a kiss on it. Emma tried not to cringe at the gesture. “My name is Baelfire.”

“Emma.” She replied, trying to get her hand away from his grasp. “Why did you agree to this marriage?”

“For the power, of course.” He answered with a sly grin.

‘Oh, he’s that kind of man’ Emma thought, she was sure she wouldn’t be able to convince him to not marry her, it wasn’t like he was forced like her – he chose to marry her.

“I’m going to lay down.” Emma tried to get away from the man as quickly as possible, she needed to find a way to escape. She knew it would be difficult though as the guards who had manhandled her earlier were by her side once again. They each grabbed one of her arms, she was sure she would get bruises from their hard grip on her soft skin.

They leaded her towards her temporary room, as they called it. Once she got married she would get moved towards a different room, her husband’s room. She did not look forward to that. At least they left her alone once she was safely in the room.

As soon as the door shut behind the guards, she searched the room for something to use so she could get the bracelet of, knowing there would be no other way than using her magic to escape this fancy prison she was in. They had thoroughly cleaned the room though, there was nothing she could use to force the bracelet off her wrist.

The only other option was using the blankets from the large bed so she could escape out of the window. She looked down and saw she was only on the second floor. She took the blankets from the bed and tied them together. It would be a big risk, one she was willing to take to escape from her parents.

She took a big breath before tossing the tied blankets out the window, tying the end to one of the bed posts. She was sure the bed wouldn’t crack under her weight. The bed posts were made of thick wood and the bed was heavy, and more importantly it was placed near the window, so she wouldn’t lose a lot of the length of the blankets – luckily.

The blankets didn’t reach the ground, so Emma would still have to jump down. She braced herself and grabbed the blankets, swinging herself out of the window. The adrenaline was rushing through her blood and she suddenly had much more energy. She quickly but silently made her way down. It took her only two minutes to reach the end of the blankets and she quietly jumped down the last 6 feet.

Until now, none of the guards had spotted her, so she quickly dashed to one of the walls, making sure she kept hidden as best as she could.

She came upon one of the walls that was not guarded, she could hear shouts in the palace though, meaning that they must had noticed she wasn’t in her room anymore. She needed to make it quick if she wanted to get away from her parent’s grasp.

Trying to think of a way to get over the wall – seeing that there were no gates in sight, other than the one where they had gone through when they arrived and that was heavily guarded.

She noticed that one part of the wall had a few cracks in it, just wide enough to fit her feet. She wanted to jump in joy but the heavy footsteps of the guards near her made her rush on the wall. It wasn’t as easy as she had expected and it took her a few moments to balance herself with every step she took higher. The shouts were louder than before and she knew she didn’t have much time before the guards would find her.

“There she is!” Emma heard one of the guards shout and she closed her eyes for a long moment. She was almost at the top of the wall so she kept on going. She hoped she could outrun all the guards once her feet were on the ground again. Once she was on the top of the wall, she decided to jump from it, even with the height and the high risk of breaking her leg. It was a chance she wanted to take. She closed herself and braced herself for the jump.

Once she landed, luckily she didn’t break a foot or a leg, she quickly stood up. She wanted to run towards the woods again but she was quickly surrounded by five guards. She knew she was caught the moment they raised their swords.

One of them quickly grabbed one of her arms and dragged her back towards the castle. Emma kept her eyes down, she knew it was a big shot to actually escape but when she sat on top of the wall, she actually thought she was going to make without getting caught.

It didn’t take long before she was standing in her room again, two guards were nailing a wooden board over the window so she wouldn’t be able to escape again. Her mother was also standing in her room, fuming of course.

“Emma! How could you do this?!” She shouted angrily.

Emma kept her eyes down, knowing it would be best to let her mother get her rage out. She learned to keep quiet when she was still in foster care. Her foster parents used to shout at her a lot too. In the beginning, when she was really young, she would start to cry but it didn’t take her long to figure out it would only get worse when she cried or spoke up for herself.

She tuned out her mother’s raging words and as she had expected, her mother left her room after raging on and not getting a response from her daughter.

Emma sighed once the door closed with a loud bang. She walked slowly towards the large bed, two maids had placed new blankets on it during her mother’s screaming. She laid down and willed herself not to cry. She would need to try to convince Baelfire to not marry her, it would be her only option to get out of this marriage.

Feeling drained, she closed her eyes and willed her mind to close off all thoughts. It didn’t take long after that to fall asleep.

XXXX

When Emma woke up again, it was mostly because of the maids scrambling around her room. Her breakfast was already sitting on the small table in her temporary room. Her stomach rumbled and she didn’t pay a lot of attention to the maids when she devoured her meal. It wasn’t until everything on the trail was eaten up that she noticed the white fabric in what appeared to be the dressing room.

When the maids noticed Emma was done with her food, they quickly led her towards the dressing room. It was then that Emma realized they needed her for her wedding gown. The maids said nothing as she helped Emma out her clothes.

“I can do this on my own.” Emma protested, wanting to cover up her naked body. The maids continued to ignore her, making Emma stand in the middle of the room so the head seamstress could get her measurements.

Once Emma’s measurements were taken, Snow White strode into the dressing room with an elegance only a queen has.

“Tell the seamstress what kind of dress you want, Emma.” Snow White said, taking in the different fabrics the seamstress has brought with her, mentally picking out her favorite fabrics.

“I don’t want one.” Emma pressed on, crossing her arms over her now clothed chest.

She was stubborn, just like her mother was. “You will have one anyway. If you don’t pick a design, I will chose one for you.”

“Fine, then. Do whatever you want.” Emma said before stomping out the dressing room and retaking her place on the soft bed.

Snow White huffed in response and ran over the details with the seamstress before making her way towards her daughter. “Why do you keep fighting me on this? Don’t you see your father and I want what’s best for you?”

When Emma didn’t reply, she made her way towards the guarded bedroom door again. When she was about to close the door behind her she said a few more words to her daughter. “Get some rest, you will have to be ready for your wedding tomorrow evening.”


	19. White

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to my cat for sitting on my lap and 'forcing' me to write :D

The next day, Emma was forced to wear the bright white wedding dress that had been made just for her. Although the dress was beautiful, she couldn't see herself wearing it for her own marriage, even less for her marriage with a stranger.

Her mother did all the wedding preparations while Emma stayed in her room. She was happy she wasn't involved with the wedding anyway. If it were up to Emma, this wedding wouldn't even happen.

As the maids tied the laces of the complicated gown even tighter, Emma gasped for air. With each hard tug she could feel herself suffocating even more. Why did they have to tie it so hard?

She didn't struggle though, knowing it would be useless. It wouldn't undo the wedding her mother had planned out anyway. Emma decided she would go through this marriage and find a way out of it afterwards, when no one expected it. The maids placed a small crown on top of Emma's head, they said it belonged to the queen when she was younger.

When the maids were finished getting Emma ready, two guards strode into the bedroom. They each held one of Emma's arms, again. Emma was used to it by now, although the bruises on her arms were still visible, she didn't struggle anymore. Their grip would only tighten around her arm, making her arms even bluer than they already were.

As they walked towards the ballroom, Emma could hear the chatter and music coming from the inside, making Emma cringe at the thought of how many people would actually be inside that room. How did her mother manage to plan this in such a short notice anyway?

Her thoughts were interrupted when her father suddenly stood beside her, taking one of her arms to walk her down the aisle. She took one last breath before the large doors before her were opened, revealing the room to her eyes. She shuddered when she saw her soon-to-be husband standing in front of the altar wearing a large smirk, his eyes screamed 'danger', making Emma even more nervous than she already was.

The music started to play and she was being led by her father towards Baelfire. Once they made it to the front, he gave Emma's hands away to Bealfire who was still smirking. Emma squirmed as she felt his grip tighten around her hands.

'Where the hell is Killian?' Emma thought, she couldn't help but keep hope that Killian would make his way here and save her from this unwanted marriage.

XXXX

On the other side of the Enchanted Forest, Killian was shouting orders to his soldiers. Sitting on his steed, he ordered his men to search every inch of the forest. He knew he should have never left Emma's side, not even for a moment.

Ruby was sitting on her own horse – after a lot of protest from Killian who wanted her to stay safe in the palace - feeling guilty for taking Killian outside as Emma's parents were visiting their sleeping daughter.

A young boy, around the age of 10, approached the shouting King with small steps, keeping his eyes down in respect for his King.

"What is it, lad?" Killian asked, slightly annoyed as he wanted to go search the entire kingdom for Emma as soon as every soldier was ready.

"I-I-I saw them riding away in their carriage." The young boy stuttered, impressed by the large man that was his king.

"What else did you see, kid?" Killian asked, the kid could have some useful information after all and it was important to have every piece of information so the search would be easier. Every second Emma was away, Killian grew more worried.

"I heard them talking about having to deal with magic." The young boy answered. Killian nodded his head as a thank you and gestured to one of the maids to take care of the boy and his family. He would reward the boy once Emma was safely back.

Ruby strode towards her brother and asked him what they would do next.

"We will go to Queen Snow's kingdom and look around. My guess is that they brought her back to their palace. We won't know anything until we are there." Killian explained. He started to shout orders to his soldiers. If they hurried, it wouldn't take them too long to arrive.

They galloped through the forest separating both kingdoms. After a few hours, they let their horses drink from the stream, giving them a twenty minute break so they could have some rest and the soldiers could have some food. Afterwards, they went back to their course until nightfall. They were near Queen Snow's kingdom but Killian decided it would be better to have some rest first so they could have a fresh start, which would be necessary if they wanted to get Emma back.

XXX

"Do you, Baelfire, take Princess Emma to be your wife?" Emma heard the priest say the necessary vows, it only took Baelfire two seconds to say 'I do'. Emma cringed as the priest asked her the same question.

She didn't answer at first, making everyone impatient. She saw her mother glaring at her from the corner of her eye and she felt Baelfire squeezing her hands a bit too tightly to be comfortable. She winced as she heard her fingers making a cracking sound.

The priest cleared his throat, obviously feeling awkward to be in this position. "Do you, Princess Emma, take Baelfire to be your lawfully wedded husband?" He repeated.

"I-" Emma started, closing her mouth again. She glanced around the large room once again, hoping someone would come to her rescue. When no one stood up to save her like she hoped, she glanced back to Baelfire. "I-"

She couldn't even finish her sentence as the double doors were being cracked open by a few soldiers. They were being led by Killian himself. In a moment of surprise, Baelfire loosened his grip on Emma. She took the opportunity to tear away her hands from his and ran straight towards Killian.

As they hugged, their tense muscles relaxed instantly. "Thank you." Emma whispered in Killian's ear, holding him even closer. She felt relieved he arrived just in time. As they parted, they were oblivious to the room full of people and their stares. Killian took Emma's hand and led her out of the room.

They didn't make it out of the castle before they were stopped by Snow White, who had an angry look on her face.

"How dare you!" She shouted at Killian, glaring at him as she did so. "You ruined everything!"

"How could you make your own daughter do this?!" Killian shouted as well, pushing Emma behind him so he could protect her from her mother.

"It was the only way!" Snow White reasoned. Killian was shocked, he just couldn't grasp it how her parents could behave like this. One moment they were so happy to have their daughter back and then the next moment they were forcing her to marry someone.

"But why?" Emma spoke up. She was still clueless as to why her parents behaved this way.

"Because you need to be free from your magic." Emma looked back to the bracelet she wore around her wrist.

"I just don't understand why you hate me for it." Emma said honestly. It wasn't like she was hurting anyone with it, she didn't even use it much. Of course this wasn't because she didn't want to – it was because she didn't know how.

"It's evil. Magic took you away in the first place. Your father and I made a deal." Snow White sighed, wishing she didn't have to explain everything but continued anyway. "By marrying Baelfire, Rumplestiltskin has agreed to take away your powers."

"This is just crazy." Killian said, shaking his head. Emma could tell he was even angrier than before. "You know that man can't be trusted!"

"It was the only way!" Snow White defended. "We didn't know anyone else that would be able to help us."

"Let's just go, Killian." Emma said, she had enough of this, she just wanted to be away from this place.

"Come on, love." Killian guided Emma outside to where the horses were waiting. He helped her up on his horse and sat behind her.

Her white wedding gown was a mess, but they didn't care. If she could, Emma would have taken it off the second Killian strode through those door. But it would have to wait, at least Killian was by her side now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forget about the shout out to the cat... he doesn't deserve it anymore...
> 
> Anywayyyy, I was planning on writing when I was dogsitting Dot... But that didn't happen... as you can see... She needed a lot of attention... oops... anyway, the chapter is done now! A bit later than I planned...
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, don't be shy to tell me! Leave a comment and a kuddo, I need some love xoxo


	20. The gown

Emma shivered slightly from the cold air as they walked through the forest. Even though Killian's arms around her gave her some warmth, the air from the cold night still hung around her. Killian had already placed a blanket around her to cover her up - the wedding gown didn't give much protection from the rain - but she was still cold. It was like she wasn't able to heat up anymore.

Killian noticed Emma's shiver and frowned. "Are you still cold, love?"

Emma nodded, "Yes, I am. But it's nothing to worry about."

Killian didn’t listen though and immediately pulled her closer to his chest, hoping to provide some warmth. “There is a small tavern 20 minutes from here. We’ll stop there so we can have some rest.”

Emma nodded in relief, she didn’t know how much longer she would be able to stand the cold. Aside from that, she really wanted to get rid of the wedding gown which clung on her body in an uncomfortable way. Snuggling closer to Killian’s chest, Emma closed her eyes, feeling tired all of the sudden.

***

As promised, they arrived at the tavern roughly 20 minutes later. Killian gently shook Emma’s shoulders to wake her up. She woke up with a start, it seemed that she had gone into a deep sleep already. Helping her off the horse, Killian held Emma close to him, seeing that she was still shivering.

They entered the tavern and an old lady came out to check in her guests. “I only have 3 rooms left.” Killian looked around, counting 7 guards. It would seem that the guards would have to share a room together.

“Would you mind sharing a room with me?” Killian rubbed his ear in embarrassment. “That way, the seven guards wouldn’t have to share one room together.”

Emma had to hold in a laugh as she saw how embarrassed Killian was. She nodded in approval, she would feel bad for the guards anyway if they had to try to share a bed with 7 people. And she didn’t really care anyway, all she wanted to do was getting out of the dress and getting under the warm covers until day broke out again.

Killian paid the woman for the 3 rooms and asked if they could borrow a nightgown for Emma. She suggested that they head out to the dressmaker next door, saying that she would be happy to help, even if it was nearly eleven at night.

Emma and Killian made their way to the dressmaker the old lady suggested and knocked on the door. It took the woman only two minutes to open up the door for them, ushering them inside. The wind was howling and Emma was glad they decided to stay at a tavern. It would not have been a pretty sight to ride on horseback to the palace in this weather.

“Congratulations.” The dressmaker said, pointing to Emma’s dress when they both gave her a confused look.

“Oh, no, we didn’t…” Emma started but was cut off by Killian who asked for a nightgown and a warm day dress for Emma. Emma’s cheeks heated up.

“I have this nightgown right here. It’s perfect for the colder weather.” The lady held up a white nightgown, it looked really comfortable. Emma nodded her head in approval.

“I’ll be right back with a day gown.” The dressmaker went to the back of the little store, leaving Killian and Emma alone. Emma walked around the store, taking in the different colors of the beautiful gowns. It truly was a paradise for everyone who enjoyed buying nice clothes, she knew Ruby would love it here too. Some of the gowns were as beautiful as the gowns the royal dressmaker made, if not even better. A red gown with a sweetheart neckline covered in small diamonds caught her attention and she ran her hands over the fabric. The dress felt soft and delicate in her hands. Emma was so engrossed in the dress that she was oblivious to the fact that Killian had been watching her this whole time.

They both turned their attention back onto the dressmaker who came back with a light blue dress that would be perfect to wear during their trip back to the castle. As Emma went to try on the dress in the back of the shop, Killian made his way towards the red gown Emma was eying earlier, it truly was a beautiful dress.

“Need something special for you bride?” The dressmaker asked, suddenly standing beside Killian, almost making him jump in surprise. He had been so engrossed with the dress that he didn’t hear the woman creeping up on him.

“She isn’t my bride.” Killian scratched behind his ear, his ears turning slightly pink.

“Yet.” The woman winked knowingly. “This would look perfect on her.”

“It will.” Killian nodded in approval.

“Do I need to wrap it in?”

“Yes, please. Don’t show it to her yet, though. It’s a surprise.”

“Sure thing!” The dressmaker took the dress from its place and went to the desk where she kept her money and packed all the dresses in. She packed the dress in with great care, obviously very proud of her work. Then, she took the nightgown Emma would be using for the night and wrapped that up as well.

A few minutes later Emma came out from the changing room, holding the dress in her hands, again wearing the now torn and dirty wedding gown. “It fits.” Sha handed the warm gown to the woman and smiled up at Killian.

“That will be 30 silver coins.” Emma’s eyes bulged, not wanting Killian to spend this much coins on a simple gown and a nightgown.

“Wait, why are there 3 packages?” Emma asked curiously, looking over to Killian for an explanation.

“It’s a surprise.” Killian said with a smile, paying the woman for the dresses and taking the packages from the counter. Afterwards, he led Emma back outside, in the cold air.

“Thank you for coming by!” The woman said when they left her store. By the time they were outside again, it was almost midnight and they felt guilty for keeping the woman up this late. Although, Killian suspected the woman didn’t really mind as she sold 3 of her gown in less than an hour. Killian led Emma inside the warmth of the tavern where they were being greeted by the same woman again.

“Did you get everything you need?” She asked politely. Both Emma and Killian nodded in reply. “Well, goodnight then!” She winked and went to the other side of the tavern where some patrons asked for another mug of ale.

Killian cleared his throat and looked back to Emma who was blushing fiercely. “Let’s get going then.”

They both climbed up the stairs and went inside the small tavern room they had rented for the night. As they inspected the small chamber, they noticed how clean it actually was. They were both happy about that and it made up for the smallness of the room. Occupying most of the room was the bed. It had thick blankets on top of it and Emma couldn’t wait to actually crawl under them. She was tired and cold, and the bed really looked soft.

“Why don’t you change while I get us some wood for the fireplace?” Killian suggested as he saw Emma looking longingly to the bed.

Emma nodded absentmindedly. Killian opened up one of the packages where the nightgown was neatly packed in and laid the new nightgown on top of the bed.

Emma quickly changed into the gown, only then realizing how sexy it looked on her. She didn’t try it on in the shop as it seemed to be the right size – which it was.

Killian knocked on the door before slightly opening the door. “Are you done changing?”

“Yes, I am. You can come in now.” Killian opened the door further. As he came inside the room and saw Emma brushing the tangles out of her hair in her nightgown, he had to keep in the urge to groan out loud. The sight of her golden locks spilled over her frail body was too much. The nightgown clung on her body, leaving nothing to the imagination and making it harder for Killian to keep down the urge to kiss her passionately.

Emma cleared her throat in embarrassment, making Killian snap his eyes up. He scratched behind his ear in embarrassment as well, scolding himself for losing control so easily when he was around Emma.

“Should I wait outside while you change?” Emma asked politely.

Killian almost growled at the thought of Emma waiting outside the door in the cold with a light nightgown on, which also looked very sexy on her. “It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

Emma climbed in the bed, tugging the sheets around her, protecting her from the cold. She couldn’t help but watch as Killian took off his shirt, showing off his abs. He was oblivious to Emma’s stare. He decided to keep his pants on, not wanting to make Emma uncomfortable, or himself as his arousal was hard to keep in check.

As he climbed under the covers as well, he could feel the heath of Emma’s skin radiating to him and he knew he would have a hard time trying to sleep with Emma laying down beside him.

XXX

A/N: I’m sorry for the long wait! Uni is killing me… my cat was sick the last few days, but his fever has gone down and he is feeling much better now… I’m so relieved… Only a few more weeks till I have my first exam, kill me now. OMG tonight’s the finale as well! Finally more CS scene(s), which I’m excited about... Let’s hope for a worthy finale now.

Thanks for reading! Hope to see you soon!


	21. The bandits

Emma woke up to the sound of a steady heartbeat. Her eyes slowly opened and she was mortified when she found out she had been sleeping on Killian's chest all night. She blushed as she felt the warmth radiating from his body and she tried to move away before Killian woke up. As she tried to pull away from his body, his arms tightened their grip around her body, making it impossible to get out of bed.

After trying for a few minutes and realizing it was no use, she rested her head back onto his chest. She was fully awake now and it would be impossible to sleep again with the sunrays streaming into the room. She looked up and watched Killian sleep, happy that the sunrays lit up the room a bit so she could have a clearer look of Killian's appearance. She never noticed how long his eye lashes actually were.

"Enjoying the view, love?" Killian's hoarse voice made Emma blush again as she knew she had been caught looking at him.

"Good morning." Emma said with a smile and laid her head back on his chest, enjoying the safe feeling she felt as she laid down next to him.

"Did you sleep alright?" Killian asked, unconsciously moving his fingers into Emma's hair, enjoying the softness, it was as if he was touching silk.

Emma hummed in response. "Best sleep I've had in a while." She closed her eyes again, feeling relaxed as they were laying down on the bed without a care in the world.

A knock on the door got them out of their bubble and it was only then that they realized how close they laid next to each other. Emma's cheeks heated up once again as one of the soldiers got inside the room, bowing his head in respect for his king.

"A storm is coming. We better get going now so we get to the castle before the storm hits." The soldier said and Killian thanked him.

"It seems that we should get ready now." Killian said with a sigh. He would rather stay in bed a little while longer – something he normally wouldn't do as his kingly duties were too important than to ignore. They both got out of the bed and got ready. It didn't take them long to put on their clothes, although Emma did need some help with the laces of her dress.

After finishing up their breakfast, Killian paid the woman from the inn for their rooms and the breakfast. They quickly mounted their horses again to make the last of their journey back to their home. The view of the village soon changed into a forest view as they tracked through the large forest separating them from the castle. It would take a few hours to track through it at the pace the horses were going. Emma felt relaxed, the warmer dress was more comfortable than the wedding gown she had been wearing during their track the previous day. The birds were chirping and the sun was shining brightly, giving off enough warmth to compensate for the wind.

"Why do they think it will storm later on?" Emma asked curiously, not noticing anything abnormal in the sky.

"This is just the calmness before the storm. Everything might look okay now, but that only means the weather will turn on us later this day. We can never be sure, of course, that's why it's safest to move as fast as we can so we can be home if the storm hits later on."

Emma nodded, Killian was right; being inside the palace would be the safest option for them. Even if the storm didn't hit eventually, they would still be inside.

They continued their track through the forest, stopping a few times to let their horses drink and have a small snack themselves.

It was during their third stop at the river that Killian felt as though something wasn't right. The birds stopped chirping and there were no animals in sight. It was as if the animals felt that something was wrong and fled to a safer place.

"Everyone keep a watch out. Something isn't right." He said to his soldiers and everyone immediately got their guards up.

Emma tensed up as well. She didn't know what to do so she decided to keep close to Killian's side.

"Well, what do we have here?" Everyone turned to the voice, the guards and Killian immediately got their swords from their belts. Emma shivered when she heard the voice and she immediately knew they were in big trouble.

"It seems we have a king here, captain. And a pretty lass that would sell for some golden coins." One of the bandits said with a grin, his rotten teeth were making Emma cringe. One of the men grabbed Emma's arms when she was distracted by the captain and his minion.

"Let me go!" Emma started to struggle in the man's hold, trying desperately to get away from them. The men holding her smacked her hard on her cheek, leaving a painful sting around to remind Emma to be quiet. Killian shouted in anger, demanding them to let Emma go.

The captain just laughed in response, making his way towards Emma as he knew it would make Killian even angrier than he already was. He motioned to the man holding Emma to let her go. As soon as the hands released her, Emma rushed to Killian's side, trying to help him with the bandits.

"Run, Emma!" Killian yelled as soon as he figured out that Emma was trying to rush towards him.

Emma looked at Killian for a second, a second too long it appeared as the captain of the bandits pulled her towards him by her hair.

"Not so fast, little lass." He laughed as he watched Emma's eyes water from the pain she was feeling. His tight grasp on her hair felt as though her hair was being ripped from her scalp. The painful sting from her cheek and the painful throbbing of her scalp were almost too much to handle. An unwanted tear made its way down her face and she wanted to wipe it away.

'Don't show weakness' was the mantra she kept repeating in her head. As a foster kid, she endured a lot worse than this. But the months away from the foster homes made her forget about the pain she used to feel daily, making this encounter even harder.

"Let her go! Now!" Killian ordered angrily as he watched the men manhandle Emma. It was no use as the leader of the group only laughed harder. It seemed that he enjoyed hurting others for no reason.

A flash of lightning accompanied with loud thunder suddenly appeared in the sky. The rain started pouring down, adding to the tension that everybody felt.

"Now, what will we do with you?" The leader asked, looking at Emma. He traced his finger over Emma's face, making her cringe. She wanted to escape his hold as it was becoming more and more uncomfortable by the second. As she struggled again to break free, the leader of the group finally had enough of her struggles.

"Emma!" It was the last thing she heard as darkness took over her senses. The painful throbbing caused by a hard object started to subdue as the darkness covered her mind. She felt better now, not in pain anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's so weird now that Once is over...
> 
> On a positive note, look who updated in 10 days! Yes, I'm proud of myself :D
> 
> I wrote this after 12 hours of studying sooooo... I'm so tired now... so I'm heading off to bed :')
> 
> PS, sorry that the chapter was slightly shorter than normal... I'm just really tired from all the studying so my brain isn't functioning correctly :')


	22. Lavender Soap

Emma woke up with a pounding head and a throbbing cheek. She could hear the laughs of the men above her. She couldn’t see anything, it was dark and no light shone in the cell she was being held in.

“Killian?” She yelled, scared, hoping to hear his voice. She wished she could get off the damned bracelet around her wrist, wanting to use her magic to get them out of this mess.

“Emma, love, are you alright?” Killian asked, worried for Emma’s health. She had gotten some hard punches when the brutes caught her.

“Yes, I’m fine.” Emma said, not mentioning her headache, nor her aching cheek. She didn’t want to worry Killian any more, their priority should be on getting out of this place, away from the bandits. “How are we getting out of here?”

“I’m not sure yet, love. We need to find a way to get the better hand and escape them. We must be careful though, they are ruthless.”

Emma nodded, “I understand. We need to hurry though, you heard what they said. They want to sell me!”

“Shhhh, Emma, not so loud.” Killian said, “We don’t want them to know you are awake already. They came in a few times already to check up on whether you were awake or not.”

“If only this stupid bracelet would come off!” Emma said, tugging on the silver around her wrist. It burned, silently warning her not to try harder. “Ugh!”

“It’s okay, love. We will find a way out of here, don’t you worry.” Killian reassured her.

Suddenly, they heard a loud bang above them, startling and silencing them. “Go check if the lass is awake yet. You punched her too hard, idiot.” They heard, making Emma panic. She looked around her franticly, trying to come up with a plan to get Killian and her out of that cell. Being in the dark without having any vision made it a difficult task. Her breath hitched as the door above them slowly opened, letting the moonlight stream into the cells. She looked around, hoping to find something to use to protect her, the small source of moonlight guiding her. She noticed something shimmering behind her and she quickly made her way to the other side of the small cell, holding up a metal bar. She smirked, those people who held them hostages were idiots indeed.

Emma waited for the perfect opportunity to strike, laying back down on the cot in her cell, hiding the metal bar from view. She waited until one of the brutes came into her cell to check if she was still asleep. She opened her eyes when she could sense him standing above her, striking the bar down on his face. He let out a strangled groan before falling down. Emma hoped the others didn’t hear the commotion coming from downstairs.

She let out a sigh of relief when ten seconds passed by without anyone coming downstairs to check up on them. Emma snorted when she saw that the brute had left the cell open, making it even easier for her to escape. She quickly took a hold of the keys, which were hanging from her cell door, and made her way towards Killian’s cell. “That was brilliant, lass.” Killian gave her a large smile and Emma blushed at the compliment.

After opening the cells where their guards were being held in, they silently made their way upstairs. The guards went first, the one in front of the line was holding the metal bar Emma used to bring down one of the men. It was quiet, too quiet, something felt off. As the first guard peeked his head out the door, he was confused. All the brutes were laying down, they seemed to be sleeping, all of them. They all rushed out of the dungeon room, and it didn’t take them long to realize they were being held captive on a ship. That would be difficult to get off of.

“What are we going to do now?” Emma asked, they didn’t know how far they were from shore so swimming wasn’t an option. Neither was waking one of the men up to sail them towards shore. They needed to make sure none of the brutes would find out that they had escaped, that wouldn’t do them well since they were on a ship and had nowhere to hide.

“Now, you will follow me.” They heard a voice say behind them.

\-----

“Why didn’t you come earlier? We had been stuck there for two days!” Emma was annoyed and she had every right to be. They had needed the Blue Fairy’s help when they were being captured by the filthy men and she had only come to help after two days of them being stuck in the cells. Not to mention, after Emma had risked her life to knock out one of the brutes.

“I’m sorry, Emma. I was preoccupied.” Blue apologized, knowing it wouldn’t help with Emma’s anger.

Emma sighed, knowing that being angry wouldn’t really help anymore. They were finally safe from harm, even if they were two days delayed. She couldn’t wait to get back to Killian’s castle and sleep – in a bed, with pillows. She couldn’t wait to take a bath with some lavender soap. She couldn’t wait to see Ruby again. She knew she would be getting a big bear hug once they did arrive at the palace and it made her smile.

“What are you thinking about?” Killian asked when he saw Emma spacing out with a smile on her face.

Emma looked up at Killian, still smiling. “Oh, you know. I was thinking about a bed, a bath and your sister. I can’t wait to finally get back home.”

Killian smiled back, wanting all the things Emma mentioned. He couldn’t wait for a hot meal and he wanted to scrub the filth from his body. Luckily, it wouldn’t take them more than half a day of riding to get back to the palace, to get back home.

\------

The ride went faster than expected and they made it back to the castle in the morning. Riding during the night with only the moon to guide them was hard and took a toll on all of them. “Have a few days of rest, men. You deserved it.” Killian said to his guards, who, in return, nodded happily at their king. They scrambled to their part of the castle to get some much needed rest, leaving Emma and Killian alone. They gave their horses to the stable hand, leaving them in his care. “Give them a good scrub, they need it. And give them some carrots and apples as well, they deserve it for their hard work.” The stable hand nodded and didn’t waste any time to lead the horses back to their stables to give them what they needed.

“Now we are finally alone, love.” Killian said with a smile, hugging Emma close to him and Emma closed her eyes in contentment. “You’re back! You’re finally back!” Ruby screamed, making Killian sigh in Emma’s ear. “So far our alone time. Hello, Ruby.”

Ruby ignored her brother and went straight to a smiling Emma, hugging her best friend close to her. Ruby let out a sigh of relief now Emma was finally home. “I have missed you so much!”

“I have missed you too.” Emma said, hugging Ruby even closer.

“Let’s get inside, ladies, it won’t be long until it’s raining again.” Killian said, looking up to the dark grey sky. He couldn’t wait to get inside the warmth of the palace, having a hot meal and a hot bath before going to sleep.

Two guards opened the front doors of the palace, letting the three in. “I will let the kitchen maids fix you something for breakfast. Do you need anything else?” Ruby asked in a hurry, already on her way to the kitchen. “A hot bath would be nice.” Killian and Emma said at the same time, making them laugh.

“I will be right back!” Ruby said as she sprinted towards the kitchen, asking a maid who was walking by to get two baths ready. Killian and Emma made their way towards the dining area, sitting down in the soft chairs as they waited for Ruby’s return from the kitchen.

It didn’t take the kitchen maids long to whip up a quick breakfast. Emma and Killian were happy they could finally fill their empty stomachs, stuffing down everything the maids had prepared for them in less than fifteen minutes. Ruby had a dumbstruck look on her face as she watched the two eat like hungry wolves. “That was…” Ruby said as Emma and Killian had finished up everything on the plates.

“Sorry.” Emma said with a grin. “We were just really hungry.”

Ruby snorted. “I noticed that. The maids informed me that your baths are ready too.”

“Thanks, Ruby.” Killian said, quickly standing up. Emma stood up too, eager for her long-waited bath. “We will see you later!”

“Okay, well, get some rest, I’m going out for a ride.” Ruby said, dashing out of the dining room and heading straight for the stables.

Emma smiled, “I’m going to get my bath now. I will see you soon.” She said before making her way towards one of the bathing rooms.

The scent of lavender hit her nose once she stepped inside the bathing room, a hot bath waiting for her. “Let me get that for you, milady.” One of the maids said, helping Emma out of her dress. Emma sighed as the hot water touched her skin, sinking back into the bath. She closed her eyes and relaxed.

After half an hour, the water turned cold. It made Emma shiver and she got out of the bath quickly. One of the maids rushed to her with a towel in her hand, rubbing Emma dry and helped Emma redress into a soft nightgown. Emma quickly thanked the maid for her help and walked towards Killian’s bedroom.

Emma took a deep breath and knocked softly on the door. Within seconds the door opened, revealing a tired Killian.

“Can I sleep here tonight? I just don’t feel safe when you are not with me.” Emma asked shyly.

Killian opened the door wider with a smile, letting Emma inside his bedroom. Without a word, they both settled into the large king sized bed, letting sleep take over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry it took me this long to give you another chapter but the exams were making sure I had no time left to do other things than studying. My exams finished on the 30th of June, but after my exams I was just too tired to write and I just didn’t have any inspiration. I passed all my exams, yaay! After my exams I worked for 8 weeks… And applied for my next year of uni, I chose International and European law as my major, I’m so excited! I WILL BE MEETING JEN AT THE END OF THIS MONTH TOO… I have a photoshoot tomorrow and another one on Monday, and I leave for Greece on Wednesday, I will be really busy in September… I do hope I will be able to write one more chapter before school starts again
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked it! Sorry for the mistakes
> 
> PS. I know, weird chapter name… but I had no inspiration for a better one, oops :’)


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